Breathe Again
by annieDD
Summary: The story of Zoe Cooper. A girl that was absolutely not ready for what life had in store for her. With some new and old friends alike, with long forgotten memories, will she be able to handle the regularly scheduled vampire drama? OC/AU. Slow burn. Starts towards the end of season 1 & season 2.
1. No Questions Asked

**So here it is guys, the rewrite.  
And if you're new, welcome.  
I hope you like it. Let me know what you think! :) **

New York City. Greenwich Village, West 12th street. 7th floor, Apartment 7. The brown door at the end of the hall. This is where I laid in anguish, dreading to face the day. Attempting to open my crust ridden eyes, slits squinted at the alarm clock. 10 AM. Groaning, I willed my eyes open. Another day, another victory.

I threw my legs over the edge of the bed to slowly get up, stretching out stiff arms. The room was a mess, with random balls of clothing all over the floor. In one of those balls, I manage to find a shirt, my favorite pair of jeans and the one thing I was looking for: a black hair tie. Yawning, I pull my hair up in what can only be described as a mess.

Walking barefoot over the cold wooden floor to a shelf along the wall; I scan over the CD's, one by one, looking one that would start this day off perfectly. Ah, there it is! Perfect.

Knowing the track list by heart, it takes me seconds to find the essential song. I turn the volume all the way up on my old stereo, and Foo Fighters' 'Learn to Fly' blasts, like a perfect wake up call to all the newly resting neighbors of the apartment.

It's the same routine, every day. Find pants and some music. Take off the makeup I was too lazy to take off the night before. Brush my teeth; wash my face, put on some useless moisturizer. Light up a cigarette and continue on my way to the kitchen for the heavenly espresso machine. Make much needed coffee, whilst ignoring my roommates, who are already used to this modus operandi. Do not speak until halfway through the first cup.

The three of us were scattered around our large, open kitchen; my brother rummaging through the fridge and my best friend-also his girlfriend-with her face buried into a mug much too large for an espresso.

Theo pops his head out from the fridge with a sly smirk, "Foo, huh? Personally, I was expecting 'The Smiths'"

"Theo, you know she listens to The Smiths when she's happy." Jess replies, tucking a strand of dark curly hair behind her ear whilst sipping from her mug "She wasn't happy last night. No Smiths today."

Jess was beautiful. It never ceased to amaze me how the darker girl was able to contain her frizzy fro into neat curls after sleeping on it. Maybe it was a witchy gift? Her natural slim body was a constant punch to my self-esteem as all she functioned on was espresso and take-out pizza. Regardless of her alluring beauty, she had my brother to increase her hotness scale. Theo was a looker, even if neither one of us was blessed with our mother's green eyes. He was slightly taller and broader than Jess's 5'4 frame, donning dark brown wavy hair as I did. With same hair and same eyes, both inherited from our father, you would know Theo and I are siblings from a mile away.

"-it's not like she's been getting Simon's dick lately, no wonder she's been in and out"

Catching the last end of Theo's sentence, I cranked my head towards him with a death glare. Obviously the two had been in one of their 'Why is Zoe depressed' debates, which happened quite frequently. I'm not really "depressed" per say, I'm just in a seasonal rut. I'm in productive mode, not making the effort to feed on small talk or engage myself in activities I didn't care for.

"Quit your gossiping children, I'm going downstairs to work for a bit. Will I see you later?" I asked, placing my finished mug in the dishwasher. Jess sheepishly moved away from Theo, attempting to remove herself from the line of fire.

"Nah we're heading out to Angela's, we'll be back for supper though. Enjoy your morning alone Miss. Celibate." Theo replied, snickering at his own joke. That marked my leave, folks. I stomped to my room, ignoring Jess's immediate lecturing of Theo and the smacking sounds I heard afterwards. Goofs.

Changing into some workout clothes quickly and grabbing a change of clothes for after, I made my way out of the apartment to our downstairs apartment, commonly used as our work area. I threw the clean clothes and pack of cigarettes in the corner of the room and pulled open the large, dark blue curtains hanging over the windows. Ah, sunlight.

The room is largely empty, apart from exercise equipment close to the walls; two of the four walls are covered with floor length mirrors which reflected bright rays. The other two walls are completely glass, on the outside it's reflective glass for people passing by, which means I can work out and look like a complete mess in full liberty.

Walking over to the CD player, I throw into it a CD with "Workout" scribbled down on it. Shuffle chooses the music and I smile as soon as 'Can't Stop', by the Red Hot Chili Peppers starts playing. What better way to start your workout than this? I usually rotated between strength exercises, cardio and a solid 45 minutes of boxing. My view is that as long as you're working out, it doesn't matter how strict your workout is. You're still bettering yourself.

Boxing was what I liked the most. It made me feel in control, strong and tough. There was a period in my life when I had no control over anything; which is why I strived for the feeling of domination. Hating and fearing the memories from those times, I'm able to push them away with boxing and training in general. Nothing would ever catch me by surprise. I would make sure of that.

Dripping of sweat before I even reached the punching bag; curtsy of being a heavy smoker for a bigger part of my life. I persevere, hitting the bag as if my life depended on it.

"Son of a bitch!" I immediately stop and curse, feeling pain in my hand. Taking the glove off of my left hand, seeing the cause of pain. A thin ring with a turquoise stone in the center of it, a ring much too large to make boxing comfortable. Making a move to take it off, stopping at the tip, I sigh and push it back down. Every time I hurt myself during boxing, the ring will serve as a reminder; not all that looks good also feels good.

I continue on with makeshift kickboxing, avoiding punching with my left hand for the remainder of the workout. Out of breath, I finally stop and go straight to the only bathroom on this floor, picking up the change of clothes.

After scrubbing the sweat and stench from my body, I bunch up my wet hair into a messy bun and change into old jeans and a random gray shirt. I make myself an ice coffee and go to the other side of the apartment, commonly known as my office. In theory, I shared the office with my roommates, just like the upstairs apartment. Being practical, I was the only one using it.

Cracking open the cassette player in the office, I pop in Madonna's greatest hits. There wasn't a moment in my life where music was not present. Most people prefer to study and work in silence, but I am not one of them. I hate people around when I'm trying to focus on something; hence the closed door. Music, on the other hand, was always there, silently playing in the background, as a perfect soundtrack to both pivotal moments and everyday life.

It was there for my first kiss; it was there for my first time too. For my first party, for my first day in New York, it was there even for my birth! As it was a story Dad liked telling, I was born to the sound of Roy Orbison's "Pretty Woman". I'm so connected to music that I even listen to it as I sleep; a playlist going on a loop, in a very low volume.

Lighting another cigarette and taking a big chug of coffee, I opened the document I've been working on for the past few days. Psychology again? Bring it on.

….

Without noticing, the sun fell behind clouds and tall New York buildings. I was neck deep in "Stockholm syndrome", learning how and where it manifests the most. Though I'm fascinated, it's an easy way to forget about time; one day, more or less. It means nothing, in the bigger picture.

"While considered irrational, from a distant point of view, it makes perfect sense to the victims." I voice out loud, trying to test how well it sounds. "Nah, that's shit. While considered irrational by those unaffected by it, to the victims, it appears to be as normal as it is confusing." I repeated, nodding in approval as I type it down.

"Although often connected to cases of kidnap and hostage, Stockholm syndrome appears in a variety of situations." I mumble aloud as fingers slammed over keyboard. "Victims of domestic or child abuse, incest and human trafficking can be subjected to one or more aspects of the Stockholm syndrome. Prostitutes, cult members and prisoners of war are part of the same category as well."

There's a reason as to why I avoided studying psychology for so long. It will hit your core, making you wonder and truly think. It makes you see just how fucked up a human mind can get; Stockholm syndrome being just one of the finest examples.

Facing such terror, often both psychological and physical? It's fascinating as much as it is scary. There were even cases of affection, not just emotional connection. This is not a "Criminal Minds" episode, this is real life. There's a fine line between being a self-defense mechanism and becoming an illness. Never being kidnaped, tortured or harmed in any similar way, I can't relate to it. The only thing I can do it try to understand, from a standpoint of someone who studies it, safe from the sidelines.

"Zoe!" Jess call from the hallway, jolting me out of deep thoughts.

"Come in Jess!" I yell back, looking away from the computer screen. Jess peeks her head through the door with flushed cheeks and a dorky grin. "Hey, we're back. Sorry we're late, are you coming out with us tonight?"

I glance at the time in the bottom corner of my laptop. 9PM? Already? How?

"Where to?"

"West Coast party in Brooklyn." Jess elaborates, widening the door to show off her sexy velvet dress. Clearly the couple had not just got back, otherwise she wouldn't look ready to hit the streets.

"West Coast party on the East Coast?" I ask with a raised eyebrow. "That sounds like a good idea."

"Oh come on!" Jess whines, still grinning at her, "Why not take a trip down memory lane? Plus, I'm pretty sure Simon's going to be there." She adds, with a wiggle of her eyebrow, thinking that might change my mind.

"One more reason for me not to go." I conclude in laughter, "No, you two have fun. I have more work to do on this one. And all jokes aside, I don't feel like dealing with Simon tonight."

"We'll tell him you said "Hi"." Jess teases, blowing a kiss swiftly making her way out of the door.

"Oh, don't you dare!" I yell, hearing Jess's giggles as she exits the apartment. A grin escapes as I try and keep up the front of tough and dangerous. That's Jess; even though you want to hate her, you just got to love her. Once again, I continue on with my work.

...

As Jess and Theo were dancing the night away to 90's West Coast finest, I couldn't help but wonder if it was bad that I passed up on a fun night out. I have work to do. Work that could have waited one more night, but still, it was work that needed to be done. One of the excuses I gave to Jess was true: I didn't want to deal with Simon, not only tonight, but not in the foreseeable future either. Besides, it's not like I hadn't experienced the West Coast first hand; "been there, done that, can't remember most of it" is a fitting explanation.

Checking the clock, I realize how late it's gotten. 2 AM. Time to call it a night. Tidying up before heading to bed I washed the dishes, emptied the ashtray and continued to the upstairs apartment, stopping only to lock the apartment behind me. Hmm, no sign of Theo and Jess up here. Without a doubt, I'm going to have to listen to how good the party was tomorrow. But Simon, ugh, missing out on a good party is a price I'm willing to pay.

Noticing my cellphone on the kitchen island, my interest peaks as I see I have a missed call. From an unknown number. In a normal situation, that would hardly be a cause of worry. This is not a normal situation. 9 people. Only 9 people know my number, and two of them are my roommates. To call? Or to ignore the possible telemarketer? Meh, to hell with it. I called back the number, figuring if it was someone I knew they won't care for the returned call past midnight.

It rang for four times. As I was about to hang up someone finally answered.

"2 AM? Seriously?" A groggy voice I recognized asked.

"Damon?" I haven't heard that voice in months. It was the voice of the man who's considered to be one of my closest friends.

"You changed your number?" I ask in surprise, knowing that I definitely had his original number memorized.

"Yes. That's not the point." a sleepy Damon replies, "Look, can I call you in the morning? And can you actually answer this time?"

"I already woke you up; you may as well just keep on talking." I reply, shrugging my shoulders while walking to the fridge to crack open a beer. If Damon is calling, something is up and would be worth drinking to. "While you're at it, you can explain why you broke your own record."

"What record?" Damon asks uneasily, probably knowing that I'd have a snarky response.

"Record of how long you can go without calling your only friend to reassure her that you're alive?" I suggest, not hiding the fact of how irritated I am… what kind of jerk goes on a hiatus for four months? Damon should know, no matter how sleepy he was, that I'm not going to let this one drop.

"You're not my only friend." He corrects, a smirk being heard through the phone.

"Yes I am." I snip back.

"Your brother's my friend. His girlfriend is too."

"Nah, they just tolerate you because of me." I say, grinning. No matter how much time had passed, I can still grill Damon effortlessly; that's an important piece of information. It's nice to know that I can fall back on my ability to annoy the hell out of him.

"So? Explanation time? Where the hell have you been?" With that question, the wrath of Zoe appears. I've been friendly for long enough, but I can no longer ignore the fact that Damon needs to know that I was genuinely worried about him. Never before did the two of them gone without talking for such a long time.

"I was busy." Damon admits nonchalantly. I can imagine him picking at his nails in ignorance. Bastard.

"You know I'm going to need more than that. Spit it out." I order him, taking another swig of beer.

"I'm in Virginia." Damon says. If he were in front of me, I bet he would laugh at my look of surprise.

"Virginia? Back to the roots, huh? Why Virginia?" She asks.

"It's a very complicated story, one I do not wish to share at 2 AM." Damon admits, finally being awake enough to act like hit normal asshat self. "It started with me following my brother here, to make his life a living hell. Let's just say it escalated."

"Are you kidding me? You still haven't given up?" I ask in disbelief. I would have hoped that over the past few months where I haven't been in touch with him, he might have grown up. He didn't.

"Now is definitely not the time for a lecture, Zo." Damon warns, my eyes twitched in annoyance. Warning, eyeroll coming.

"Fine, then. I'll take care of that at a more decent hour. Now, get to the part where it escalates."

"That's the longer part of an already long story." Damon explains, making me roll my eyes yet again." It's why I called you. I really can't do this over the phone and I might need your help."

That's when the act dropped. He called for a reason.

"When and where do you need me?" I ask, all joking matters dropped.

"Mystic Falls, Virginia? As soon as possible?" Damon suggests.

Damon is a sarcastic, often reckless and irresponsible idiot. The fact that he actually sounded serious about something just made this situation a whole lot more worrying.

"Okay. Go and get some sleep. I'll do the same. I'll call you when I get there tomorrow." Not waiting for a response, I hang up the phone and toss it back on the island.

Gulping down the rest of the beer, I take a seat on the counter. There are very few people in this world that I love and care about. An even fewer number could call in the middle of the night for help, yet I'd do whatever they need me to. Three people, to be exact. Theo, my baby brother. Jessica, my best friend and unofficial sister-in-law. And Damon Salvatore.

Damon Salvatore is my friend. My best friend. My occasional partner in crime. Well, with the two of us, it was the other way around; I was his occasional partner in crime. Years ago, Damon Salvatore reserved his place on the list of people I would do anything for.

Wow. I realized this is the first time that Damon asked for a favor. It would only make sense that it's a dangerous favor of him to ask. Jumping off the counter and heading to the fridge, I take out and open a blood bag. Dangerous or not, Damon Salvatore saved my life. And I will never forget that, no matter what he asks.


	2. Make It A Double

**Sorry for the slight delay guys!  
Here's a new one, I hope you like it. I'll try to update soon! :)  
Let me know what you think! :)**

As soon as daylight broke through the windows, I decided to go for a walk. At 8AM the village was buzzing. New York City, they don't call it "the city that never sleeps" without solid reason. You'll always run into people going about their business whether it is day or night.

There was a point in my life where I didn't see the light of day for almost two years. I still can remember the feeling. When daylight became a death sentence, I missed it. The day I was finally free, I spent the whole day just walking around New York, grinning like an idiot. So, it became an occasional habit. Every now and then, I'd ditch my workout plan and go for a walk, grinning like an idiot, just like the day I walked in sunlight after two years of hiding.

Today I was on a mission; I went to the garage to pick up my Range Rover Evoque. Having the big black beauty would have been useful in any other city but in NYC the car was pretty useless. My guilt faded as I revved the engine as I sped to the apartment, earning surprised glares from people of the sidewalks.

Upon entering the apartment, I found Jess and Theo in their usual pre-lunch spot; the kitchen. They returned extremely early this morning, by that time my bags were already packed. I heard the two of them stumble drunkenly into the house, giggling and trying to hush their voices.

"Wad up?" I ask, throwing the West Coast hand signal, "How was it last night?"

"Pretty good." Jess replies with a laugh, an evil grin spreading immediately after, "By the way, Simon asked about you."

"I'm glad I missed it." I sign, pouring a double espresso. The two snickered as they sat on stools by the island, ready to interrogate.

"Where'd you disappear this morning?" Theo asks me as I pull out a small cooler from under the island. The couple sat leaning across the counter, matching cups of coffee in hand. They sure know how to nurse a hangover and be cute at it.

"I went to the garage to get my car. I'm going on a little road trip." I explain, opening the fridge and packing the blood bags and ice packs in the cooler. It was foolish to think that they'd just let me leave without a harassment of questions. The two watched my every movement earnestly, figuring by the items I packed it would give them a hint of the journey awaiting.

"Oh, where to?" Theo asks excitedly, by the look on his face I could tell he thought we were all going together.

"To Virginia. This time I'm flying solo." I tell them sheepishly, I want them to come, truly. But I wouldn't risk putting them in danger, not when I don't know the situation.

"Solo?" "Virginia?" Theo and Jess ask simultaneously. With a heavy sigh, I prepare for the oncoming argument.

"Damon called me last night. He's in his hometown, so I'm going there." Honesty's the best policy; especially when you don't know enough details to be considered a liar.

"That statement holds way too little details for me to be comfortable with." Theo comments with a frown.

"I know." I agree with a sigh. "But it's Damon. One, he wouldn't call if he didn't really need me. Two, I owe him, and both of you know it."

"I don't like the part where we don't go there with you." Jess says, shaking her head.

"Neither do I." I tell her, leaning over the island. Grasping her hands, I give a desperate-oh you're so going to let me do this- look "Listen, I don't even know what went south. He said it was a long story, not one you tell over the phone in a few details. Let me go down and see if I can help him. You know me. If I'm in trouble, if we're in trouble… if we need back up, I won't hesitate to call."

Now, that was a lie. If I was in a little bit of trouble, I would call. If it was a huge mess with no visible exits, I would not call. I'd do all that's possible to stop them from entering the same mess.

"Zoe, I really don't like this." The brunette tells her, looking to Theo for reassurance. Theo looked just as unsure as Jess. These two were such worry worts, it was strange to think that they thought they were protecting me after all these years. Little do they know, I'm always three steps ahead to prevent them from getting in any trouble.

"Neither do I." I repeat, "Look, I'm capable enough to keep myself safe. If I need your help, I will call you, I promise. Besides, I told you: I don't even know what's going on. For all I know, it's the regularly scheduled "Damon drama". I don't need help for that; I need whisky and patience."

The next ten minutes I spend convincing my baby brother and my best friend that not only is there no reason for them to worry, but there's no way I'd have a change of heart. While Theo and Jess may be two very headstrong individuals, I'm worse than the two of them combined. When I set my mind on something, that's it. Knowing that, Jess and Theo slowly give up on their efforts.

One hour and one big promise later, I was in my car on the way to Mystic Falls, Virginia.

…

Windows down, wind in hair, cigarette in hand while hanging from the window with the other on the steering wheel. Smiling, I softly sing along to "Only Happy When It Rains" by Garbage which blared from my speakers.

Time may be a relative subject to my kind, but I still drove over the speeding limit. For the first time in a very long time, I'm in a rush. I can't remember the last time I was in a rush to do anything, to get anywhere. I never realized how human that seems.

Feeling uneasy, I wondered what sort of mess Damon had gotten himself into. Damon wouldn't call if it wasn't something big. As careless as I may look, my mind is racing a 100 miles per hour. What could it be? What did he do? And how can I fix it?

For as long as I've known Damon, I can only think of one possible reason. One name was brought to front, a name Damon mentioned last night. Stefan Salvatore. The younger Salvatore that I never had the pleasure of meeting, even though I pestered Damon to for ages.

I, of course, knew the story by heart. To be fair, I've only known one version, that being Damon's. Stefan's version was probably quite different, and the truth? Well, as it always is, the truth was possibly somewhere in the middle, a combination of both stories.

I tried helping Damon grow past it. To show him that forgiveness is a virtue and that revenge leaves you with a bitter taste in your mouth you'll carry for years. I tried it all, being good cop and bad cop. Being rational and then acting crazy. I did it all to try and make Damon drop the revenge he's been holding onto for years. Needless to say, it didn't work. He said it himself last night; he followed his brother to Mystic Falls. The reason behind his trouble is his stupidity and thirst for revenge. Had the other brother finally had his fill, and finally fought back? Whenever I would suggest that the rivalry was finally over, Damon would reassure me that he is simply waiting for the right time to strike. Did he find it now? Did Stefan fight back? Or was it all finally over?

Though I may not believe in God, I do believe in forgiveness. Forgiveness and second chances, beliefs my best friend does not share. For years I've tried to pass it onto him, with no visible result. Now instead of fixing him, now I'll try to fix the shit he's in. And knowing Damon, he's swimming in it now.

…

How come, in all my years, I've never been in Virginia?

I've travelled everywhere! Been to Africa, spending more than a month there, living with a tribe of warriors teaching me how to use a bow and arrow. I've been to Australia, polishing surfboards for a living. Got lost in Barcelona, kissed someone on the Eiffel Tower, spent days and hours sketching Prague. Out of all places, I've spent the least amount of time in the States. Which is very ironic, given the fact that I live in New York. Mostly I stuck around to the big places. New York, LA, DC. Chicago, Philly, Portland. Austin and Las Vegas. And not once did I step foot in Virginia.

Looking at my drained GPS device, I realized I have no clue where Damon lives. Passing the "Welcome to Mystic Falls" sign, the town is much bigger than I initially imagined; all that I knew was that "it's a small town in Virginia", as Damon informed. When I heard the word "small", I imagined something, well, smaller.

I drove around what appeared to be the town's square. Parking next to the sidewalk, I look around searching for someone that could help. Catching the eye of a waiter working in the bar I parked in front of I smile, waving him over. He looked slightly confused but continues to walk to my car, leaning down through the window.

"Need help?" he asks with a small smile, I smiled back.

"Yeah, actually. Do you happen to know where Damon Salvatore lives?" I ask him, giving my most angelic smile.

Normal. Angelic smile. Compulsion. That's the order I usually try. Most of the time it works before I can even get to the compulsion part.

"If he lives with his brother, it's just nearby!" The waiter explains. "Just drive straight for two more corners, then make a left turn. You'll know it when you see it."

"So, what, it's easily noticeable?" I question, confused. Good god, knowing Damon and his flashiness there will be dead bodies slayed across the roof. Probably compelled the whole town claiming it was "fashion".

"That's one way to say it. Trust me, you'll know it when you see it." He says with a charming smile. I grin back, thanking him as he turns around, heading back to the bustling diner. It was impossible not to notice that he was actually really cute. Alas, he really was a boy. 20, tops. I like my men a bit older than that.

Following his directions, I drive straight and after the second corner, make a left on the third one. Driving slower now, looking out of both windows, I look for a flashy house which will signify "Damon". So far, there was nothing noticeable. Then, in front, I saw a building to which the word "house" would be an insult.

The boy was right; I knew it as soon as I saw it. I burst out in laughter, how could expect nothing less than a mansion when it comes to Damon? It truly was gigantic. Three, or maybe, two and a half stories, shaped in what looks to be a curve. The house isn't newly built, that much she could tell. It seems that Damon had inherited his flare from some of his ancestors, definitely the ones who build this beast in the middle of a small town.

I park as close to the front door as I could, and step outside, leaving everything but my cellphone in the car; I'll have time to settle in afterwards. Originally I planned to stay in a motel, not wanting to impose on Damon and his brother. Now, looking at this house, if I stayed I wouldn't possibly be able to impose.

Walking up to the front door, I take my chance by attempting to step in through the unlocked door. Perfect, no need to be invited in. It was unlocked and an owner free house. Closing the door slowly and silently, I plan my dramatic entrance.

The house is even more impressive on the inside. The high ceiling shows I might have been wrong in the story count, but in front I spot a large staircase. Perhaps not three stories, but two, at the very least.

"Damon Salvatore." I whisper with a big smile. "Now, that's a rookie mistake. Not only is your front door open, but it's also an open invitation." I grin as I talk to the empty hallway, knowing my friend will be in front of me in a matter of seconds. "It's risky, you know. A big, bad vampire could barge in her any second." I adds, grin only growing comparable to a Cheshire cat.

One second, I was grinning and the next; I was pinned to the wall, staring into the light blue eyes I know so well.

"Maybe I was hoping for a big bad vampire to barge in?" He asks, staring coolly in my eyes. This time, I was too quick for him. Before he could even realize or react to what I had done, without breaking eye contact I turned us around and was pinning him to the wall. Being shorter than he is, I make an even bigger difference when I grab him by the neck and lift him up, still pressed to the wall, just to have his feet dangle below him.

"Maybe that was a bad idea?" I ask innocently, facial expressions being contradictory, given the fact that he could barely breathe with my hand enveloping his neck.

"What the hell?" he chokes, and finally, I let him go. Landing on his feet, he tries catching his breath with some difficulty. "Since when are you stronger than me? I'm older."

"I take my vampirism very seriously, Salvatore." I tell him, whilst dusting off my hands, "And you do tend to forget that I have a witch on my side."

Damon frowns as I continue grinning at him. In a matter of seconds, his frown melts away and is replaced by a smile. He pulls me in for a hug, spinning around; lifting me up in a gentler fashion than her tactics with him.

"God, I missed you so much." He mumbles into my hair, pulling away to kiss my cheek.

"Why didn't you call then?" I ask, causing him to roll his eyes.

"Can we at least hug each other before you start giving me shit for my stupid moves?"

"Nah, apparently not." I say waving my hand at him. The next second, we both are laughing and hugging each other once again, Damon still not letting my feet touch the floor. He spun me around some more before finally placing me to stand in front of him.

"So? Where's the fire?" I ask.

"Can't we at least catch up before we dive into the drama?" Damon suggests, with a lazy effortless smirk, most likely knowing I wouldn't let this slide. "Believe me, once you dive into the drama, you're gonna wish we had a chance for some small talk first."

"Nope." I decline, shaking my head at my dark haired, blue eyed, scary and sexy looking best friend. "You asked for my help, now I'm here. We'll do the small talk after I help you get out of the mess you refuse to tell me about." If I just walked into dangerous territory, he'd better explain why I had to.

"Do you at least want a drink before I throw it all on you?" Damon suggests in a sigh.

"Am I going to need it?" I ask him, eyes narrowing in suspicion. Damon looks amidst the room, pretending to think about it.

"Yeah, you probably will." He smirks,

"Make it a double."

….

One Mississippi. Two Mississippi. Three Mississippi.

There aren't enough Mississippis to cover this.

"Um… do you plan on saying something, anytime soon?" Damon asks me.

He talked for five minutes. He talked and I listened, processing his every word, my eyes growing wider by the minute. Now, with his comment, they completely narrowed as I turn around, grab a fancy pillow from the couch I was sitting on, and I throw it at him, with all the strength I had in me.

"What the hell was that for?!" Damon snaps at me, wide eyed. I didn't hold back while aiming; I'm sure it hurt like a bitch, as soft as the pillow was.

"Are you trying to tell me that you knew she was alive? All this time?!" I yell at him in disbelief.

I have spent the bigger part of the last 30 years trying to help this bastard, while all the while, he knew she was alive! God only knows how many times we got hammered and he ended up crying and talking about her, and I played the best friend part perfectly; tapping him on the shoulder, promising it would be better and that he will get over it. All the while, he knew she was out there.

"I was never 100% sure." Damon shakes his head at me. "I had my doubts, but I confirmed it once I returned back here."

"Do you understand how messed up this is?" I ask him, folding my arms and frowning at him. "I don't even want to talk about the fact that I knew nothing about this and that you basically lied to me for years. I'd like to focus on the part when after 150 years you still love a woman that never really gave a shit about you."

"That's love, Zoe." Damon shakes his head. "Not even 150 years can destroy love." He tells me and I can only wonder how I missed him becoming such a romantic? That's not really Damon's turf.

"Sure, it might have been love to you, but let's be honest here; it sure as hell wasn't love to her."

"You just say that." Damon shakes it off. "I know you, you don't really believe it."

"Actually, I really do." I shake my head and take a deep breath. "And I think you do to. I mean, you did all of this, you waited and you opened the damned tomb and where was she?" I ask, lifting my arms up in the air, waving them about. "Was she in there? Or was she out the whole time? Did she ever bother to check up on you? Or the other one she was so deeply, madly in love with? No, she didn't. She couldn't care less. Where is she anyways?"

"I don't know and I don't want to know." Damon announces proudly; I raise my eyebrow at him. Now that he tried to lie and it didn't really work, it's time for him to try with the truth. "Fine, maybe a part of me would like to know where she is. But only so that I can drive a stake into her dead, rotten, possibly even inexistent heart."

"Oh please, you and I both know you'd never be capable of killing her." I roll my eyes.

"I would be glad to end her."

"Given the fact that you have spent the last century and a half trying to get that tomb open, I'd say otherwise. On the other hand, if she spent went so long without contacting you, I doubt she's going to change her mind now. As idiotic as your move may have been, that's not the biggest problem now."

"Right. 26 vengeful vampires." Damon nods his head. "Well, now there are about 15 of them, but they still have the numbers on us." He corrects himself. Slowly, we move on to problem number 2.

"That's still a big number." I agree. "Now, who are they trying to harm again?" I ask.

"Kill, not harm." Damon corrects me. "I'm pretty sure they'd be more than happy to end every human in and around Mystic Falls, but their primary target are the founding families." He explains.

"The families of those who locked them up in the first place?" I ask, and Damon nods. "Okay, that makes no sense at all. Those that are alive now had nothing to do with it." I ask, frowning. It's stupid; what kind of revenge are they after if they can't get revenge to those who harmed them to begin with?

"Well, they're stupid and they're angry." Damon sighs before taking a sip of his bourbon; he did that thing he always does; he swirled the glass, making the ice in it clink with each movement. He used to do that when I first met him too. "Plus, they aren't exactly completely innocent. The council I told you about? The entire council is made out of founding family members. And they are out to get all the vampires they possibly can. What can I say? The founding families really stick to tradition."

"D, don't get me wrong; I love that you're trying to save this people. It's a great change and I applaud it, but… where the hell did that come from? The Damon I know would already be out of Virginia." I say, completely confused. It's one hell of a change, one I'd never expected to see Damon go through.

"I'm doing it to save myself." He tells me, looking at me as if I was crazy to suggest that he might be doing it out of the goodness of his heart. "I infiltrated the council to save my sexy, vampire ass. If I hadn't, they would all go Van Helsing on me. Now, not only am I a council member, but I'm also a member of a founding family. And I am also a vampire who did not spend the last 150 years in a tomb. Not to mention that I killed a few of their vampire buddies. If anyone in this town has a big ass target on his back, it's me." He explains, finishing his rant with an angelic smile.

"And you just decided to bring me into this… massive vampire death trap?" I ask in annoyance.

"You can always walk away." He tells me; finally, there was a little, kind smile on his face. It didn't really go a long way. I know what a happy Damon looks like and this is not him. It was compassion that I was looking at. "I would never hold it against you. Hell, I even avoided calling you for as long as I could."

"Damon, I'm not going anywhere." I say in a whisper, shaking my head and offering him a small, kind smile. "I'd never leave you in this. I love you and I owe you."

"You don't owe me anything." He repeats the same thing he's been telling me for the last 29 years.

"No. I owe you everything and you know it." I shake my head. He's stubborn as hell and I have gotten used to it by now. If need be, I can be worse. And this is something I'll always be stubborn about.

"One day, you will drop that act." He frowns at me and I just shake my head as a silent promise: never. "Now, back to the real issue." He announces as he sits up and leans towards me. "We have to get rid of these vampires all while keeping a low profile. Which will not be easy to do, since one of the members knows that I am a vampire." He adds.

"And he's still alive? Wow, Damon; you've grown up." I say, actually impressed by this change.

"Don't get too happy." He warns me. "I've tried killing him but it didn't work."

"What do you mean it didn't work?"

"He has a magical ring that can bring him back from the dead." He tells me with a shrug.

"Please tell me you just made that up simply to make fun of me."

"I didn't." He tells me while he shakes his head. I know him well enough to recognize his lies and right now, he was telling me the truth. I think I would have preferred a lie. A ring that can bring people back to life? What the hell is this place?

"And none of this would have happened if you hadn't opened up that tomb." I say, shaking my head at him. I'm disappointed. Even having low expectations couldn't have prepared me for this. "If I was here, I would have found a way to stop you. Why didn't your brother stop you? What the hell was your brother doing? Was he helping you?" I ask.

"Believe me, Stefan is the last person that wanted Katherine out of that tomb." Damon mumbles before taking a large gulp of bourbon, before stirring it again. "He was too preoccupied with his human girl."

"Again I ask, why the hell didn't he stop you? Is he at least helping you now?" I ask.

Locking him up, beating some sense into him? Wasn't it at least worth the try?

"He did try to stop me." Damon informs me. "As you can see, it didn't really work. And he's helping me. Well, he was. He's currently… indisposed." He tells me. Red flag, red flag, right there.

"Damon… please tell me you didn't kill your brother." I say in a low voice.

"I wish I did." He rolls his eyes. "Long story short, he got hurt and he had to take human blood. And you know the story. He gets human blood – he goes bananas. With the council out for vampires, I couldn't have him running around town drinking from the vein. He's currently locked in the basement."

"You're keeping your brother locked in a basement?" I slowly repeat, nor really believing it.

"I had to do it!" Damon jumps up in defense. "He would have gone all ripper on me."

Of course he would. I knew the story well enough, at least Damon's side. While all of us have a strong weakness for human blood, Stefan was basically like an addict. He loses his shit when he drinks it. As he was on animal blood, I thought that was over and done with; apparently, he fell of the wagon. Again.

Ripper Salvatore would not be a good thing. Not usually and definitely not now, with the council and the tomb vampires out to get them. It sure as hell wouldn't be good for his human girlfriend either.

"How bad is it?" I ask, dreading Damon's answer.

"Luckily, not that bad." He tells me; I feel a relief. A much needed one, at that. "We stopped him before he got a chance to kill someone. Still, I can't have him running around town and eating people."

"That shouldn't be the only reason." I say, causing Damon to frown at me.

Another thing we never really saw eye to eye.

Damon, simply put, doesn't give a shit. And I do. I care enough to have actually tried the animal diet, before deciding that it was too much for me. Unlike Stefan, I do have some control. I stuck with human blood, but I mostly use blood bags. Every now and then, I'd risk it and go for the real deal. Luckily for me, I know how to stop in time. Still, blood bags are my usual choice. Having my food kicking and screaming kind of kills the joy for me. Sadly, it doesn't do the same for Damon.

"Whatever. We're one man down. Hence me calling you and asking you to put yourself in danger to help me. Well, suggesting it, since I never really said that out loud." Damon says, as if that can help him.

"Okay. Huh. Okay. We'll deal with this. But first, I need another drink."

…

I lie down with my head hanging over the edge of the bed as I look around Damon's room. Well, Damon's room upside down.

I'm not sure what I was expecting. Knowing Damon, my mind went with the direction of leather sheets and a mini torture chamber. Like a Christian Gray kind of vibe.

This? This was classy. The whole house was classy and vintage; definitely too serious for my taste, let alone Damon's. I kind of like that him and Stefan kept it this way. It has history, you can tell.

Muse was blasting on the stereo while Damon filled up our glasses again; God only knows how many times he'd done that. I wonder if Stefan can hear us, if we're bothering him? Since he's gone cold turkey with all blood, not just the human stuff, he's not as strong as he'd normally be. Still, Damon and I liked our music loud and our drinks strong.

Damon jumps on the bed next to me and seconds later, I feel a hand going up my thigh.

"What are you doing?" I laugh, shaking my head.

"I've missed you." He says, using his sexy voice on me.

"Babe, it's not happening." I say, turning around on my side to smile at him. I have fallen victim to that sexy voice twice in my life. Both of those nights happened in 1987 and both were… pretty darn amazing. But I am not going down that road again and I'm not letting him drag me down after him.

"Why not?" He asks, giving me "the eyebrows"; he's going all out with his signature moves tonight.

"Because I'd rather keep what we have, thank you very much." I say with a small smile. For a second, he looks at me all pouty but the next moment, he gives me a small smile.

He knew I'd say no. Just like I did, every single time he tried after that second night.

It felt weird, seeing him with his guard down. He doesn't always drop it and I am well aware that I am one of the rare who have the privilege of knowing that side of him. He has a good heart, but he's still a teen in his mind. Immature and easily provoked. Which doesn't mean I love him any less for that.

"Don't ever cut me off like that again." I warn him, still keeping my voice soft. It was more of a plea than it was an order.

"I won't." He promises. And Damon's not the kind of guy to make promises easily. I lift my hand up and I pull the hair out of his face; with eyes like that, it's a shame to hide them, even for a second.

"We'll get you out of this mess." I smile at him. "I'll help you." I reassure him. "Now, is there anything else you managed to avoid telling me? Anything else I need to know? Any secrets that might surprise me?" I ask. I know him too well for his own good; he has a guilty look on his face now.

"Well, now that you've mentioned it…" He starts and I roll my eyes; I knew it. I called it." Elena, Stefan's human girlfriend? Well, she kind of looks like Katherine." He blurts out. For a moment, I stare at him, not saying anything. Before I start laughing and shaking my head at him.

"Of course she does. It would be tragic if she didn't." I say, earning a smile from him.


	3. Hard Times

**I'm back! :)  
Expect a new chapter in a day, maybe two :)  
Let me know what you think! :)**

I stretch myself over the impossibly large bed as I glare at Damon, who was running around, getting dressed in his usual, all black attire. I don't think I've ever seen him wear any bright colors.

"You know, for a vampire, you really are obnoxiously loud." I comment.

"I'm in a rush." He shakes me off, before changing his mind and turning around to smile at me. "Good morning, by the way." He adds, before continuing with checking himself out in a large mirror.

"Yeah, yeah, right back at ya." I say as I slowly get up, throwing my legs over the edge of the bed. I'm not a morning person. There was never a point in my life when I was. I hate getting up early and I am unable to perform normal human, or vampire, actions, before a heavy dose of caffeine in my system.

"I know you're not going to like this…" Damon starts and I turn my head to give him a look. Nothing good, in the history of time, ever started with "You're not going to like this". "I need you to keep a low profile. With John knowing that I am a vampire, I can't have him knowing about you too." He tells me. I feel all warm and fuzzy for his care outburst, but I'm too sleepy to reciprocate it.

"I'm not on a first name basis with anyone in this town; I'm going to need a bit more than that."

"John as in John Gilbert. As in Elena Gilbert. As in Elena, Stefan's vampire girlfriend." He explains.

"So, Stefan's girl's uncle is the vampire hating council member with a magic ring?" I ask, trying hard to ignore how idiotic this all sounds; Damon nods his head." Wow. I'm impressed. I thought you brought me into a vampire death trap, but now I see I'm just a special guest star on "One Tree Hill", vampire edition." I nod, pretending to be impressed. I grin when Damon purses his lips, trying to fight back his own grin, knowing I'd use it as a catalyst for more jokes involving teenage TV dramas.

"Joke all you like; I'm sure they'll all grow on you." He warns me.

"Yeah, especially the vampire hating Uncle; I'm sure I'll get along great with him." I laugh." We'll be real close." I say as I get up on my feet." It doesn't matter, since I'll be leaving soon enough. I help you get out of this drama and up, up and away with me." I joke, slapping Damon's ass as I walk past him on my way to the bathroom; even vampires have morning breath.

"Yeah, because your life is SO interesting!" Damon yells after me; I shake my head as I start with the brushing. "Whatever happened to that guy you told me about? Is he still around?" Damon asks. With a frown and with a toothbrush between my teeth, I peak out the bathroom door to give him a look.

"What guy?" I ask, deciding to take out the toothbrush and stop embarrassing myself. "Simon? Simon was a mistake, not a guy that's still around." I mumble, probably looking as if I had rabies.

"No, not Simon." Damon shakes his head at me, looking as if I've lost my marbles. "I'm talking about that guy from London." He tells me. Now I'm the one who's afraid for his sanity.

"What guy from London?" I ask. Damon stares at me in wonder, not saying anything for a few seconds. "Damon, what guy?" I ask again in a raised voice.

"You think I'd remember the name?" He snaps at me; whoa, he's on fire. "I think it was Nate or something." He tells me, giving me a questioning look; I just shrug. I don't think I've ever met a Nate in my entire lifetime. "Oh come on!" Damon snaps again, sounding like a brat. "You called me to tell me you were in love with the guy!"

"What? When? What are you talking about?" I gawk at him.

"Are you kidding me right now?" He asks me in disbelief.

"Why would I do that?" I ask. Is he crazy? "Damon, I'm pretty sure I'd remember falling in love with someone. Nothing memorable happened in London and I sure as hell didn't fall in love."

"Zoe, I swear to God, you called me, told me you were falling madly in love with this guy, asked me to reassure you that that's not crazy or stupid, and when I did, you went all around Europe with him. Nate. Vampire. You met in London. That's all I know and I'm telling you, I'm not making it up." He tells me.

I don't know what to say. Damon wouldn't make shit like this up. And I think I'd remember falling madly in love with someone. It sounds like a prank I'd pull on him to be honest, but I'd remember pulling such a prank. Well, I wouldn't if I drank a bit too much, but I behaved myself on that trip. Which I took alone.

"Okay, D, I went on that trip alone." I say in a calm voice, slowly choosing my words. "I went to London and then I went all over Europe, before meeting up with Theo and Jess in Berlin. I didn't meet a guy there; I didn't meet a guy before. I mean, Theo and Jess can confirm it." I say.

"I can't deal with this type of crazy right now." Damon says, taking a deep breath. "I have enough drama as it is. And I suggest we go right back to it: You – house arrest; me – out in the field." He informs me.

Ah, okay, so we're going to ignore this whole "who's messing with who" thing. Okay. I can do that.

"And what am I supposed to do here?" I ask as I walk back into the bathroom; suggestions wait while I clean myself up. "Sleep all day? Redecorate the house? Spend some quality time bonding with your brother in vampire rehab?"

"Sleep all you'd like." Damon says as I fall back on his bed; he's still checking himself out. "No redecorating. And I'd stay away from Stefan if I were you." He warns me.

"Come on, he can hardly harm me." I chuckle. With Stefan locked up and without blood, I'm good.

"Stefan has a temper when he's like this." Damon replies. "Now, he's sulking. In second's time, he could try to break your neck." He warns me and I roll my eyes at him.

"And I'd be awake in minutes. Although, I'm afraid he'd be out of the house by the time I wake up."

"And that would be very, very bad." Damon points out, narrowing his eyes at me. "Plus, I'm sure he'd find something sharp and wooden, if he puts his heart to it." He warns me, his tone of voice ominous.

"Fine, I'll keep my distance. It's not like I was going to go down there and introduce myself."

I've wanted to meet Stefan for years now, decades even. Having only ever heard Damon's version of the story, I was curious about Stefan's, knowing that the truth was probably an equal mix of the two.

I can understand that they simply don't get along well and I understand why. What happened between them is horrible, but having a brother myself, I could never imagine feeling such hatred towards him. There is nothing that Theo could do that could cause me to act the way these two did. Then again, Theo would never steal my girl.

At least they're getting along now, although I would call it a temporary coalition, rather than a strong sibling bond.

"Keep yourself buys." Damon tells me, snapping me out of the sibling drama I was immersed in. "Make lunch. Read a book. Start knitting." He suggests and for the second time in about 10 hours, I throw a pillow at him.

He's lucky a pillow is the only thing I had on hand.

….

I had an evil smile as I had only one thing on my mind: Adventure.

The Salvatore boarding house was like my playground, as I explored what it had to offer. While I was seriously impressed with the amount of books located here, I got more than I bargained for as I was snooping around one of the rooms, located on the top floor: a very old picture of a very beautiful girl, with the name Katherine written bellow. Aaaand that was the last chapter of my adventure.

Bored out of my mind, I even risked it all and tried reading "The Great Gatsby", for the hundredth time, even if the last 98 times, I absolutely hated the book. I gave up after 10 pages.

I even tried working on my paper, before deciding I'm not concentrated enough to do a good job.

While the rest of the house seemed to be a history museum, Damon's bathroom was state of the art. I spent a solid hour in the gigantic bathtub, rolling around in bubbles as I talked to Jess, reassuring her that Damon was being a drama queen.

If I'm going to lie, I'm going to do it like a professional. And from a bubble bath.

I barely got a chance to button up my jeans when I heard the noise from downstairs; door closed. I doubt Stefan would walk so slowly and carefully if he was trying to make a run for it.

"Zoe." A female voice calls and I freeze. "Damon told me you'd be here. I'm Elena." The voice calls. Feeling a weight being lifted off my shoulders, I smile as I grab a black T shirt and make my way downstairs. The girl didn't even hear me. In her defense, I was hardly walking in human speed.

"Hey." I smile as she jumps up in surprise. She turns around with a hand on her chest and her mouth wide open, as she tries to catch her breath. As soon as I see her face, my heart drops.

The eyes. The face. Everything.

I saw this girl, only hours ago. I run, slamming her against the wall as I hold her by the neck.

"I'm not Katherine!" She yells at me, her voice strained because of the pressure of my hand. I stare at her as I remember the photograph I saw earlier. She's lying. This is her. "I'm not! I swear! I just look like her!" The girl yells and it is the panic in her eyes that makes me do a double take. Knowing Katherine can be a master manipulator when she has to, I don't let her go. I simply take one step closer to her and I lean over closer to her neck; it takes about two heartbeats for me to realize that she wasn't lying.

I let her go and watch as she manages to stay on her feet. She is human, she really is.

"I'm sorry, I…" I start, not even knowing where I want to go with this apology? Do I say I'm sorry that I was close to killing her or do I say I'm sorry because she looks like Katherine?

"I take it…" The girl starts, still having trouble breathing. I didn't hold back, I guess. "Damon didn't warn you?" She asks me. Ah, I forgot about that for a second, being too focused on her physical appearance.

"I'm afraid he was a bit cheap on the details." I mumble. "I'm sorry. I didn't know." I shake my head.

I don't think Damon could have predicted my reaction. If he gave it a proper thought, he could have seen this coming. I was simply too close to killing this girl, right here and right now.

"It's okay." The girl shakes her head at me. "I'm afraid he didn't warn me properly either. It's not every day that you get attacked by an angry female vampire in a bra." She says with a little bit of amusement in her voice; it takes me a second to realize that I'm not fully dressed.

I put on my shirt in the speed of light, earning a smile from the girl.

"Okay, someone needs to do some explaining." I say, deciding to focus on the fact that she looks exactly like a vampire that caused all of this in the first place! "And since you're here, I'm afraid it's going to be you."

…

There wasn't much Elena could tell me that I haven't already guessed myself.

The girl is related to Katherine. She doesn't know how, but with looks like that, she could hardly have a better confirmation.

I was confused as I listened to her; I nailed her by the wall and she's saying all of this to me? Like, why does she believe me? Granted, Damon told her I am his friend and I'll be at the house, but still… I would have been more careful with the information I was giving away.

More than anything, I wondered how she ended up mixed with the Salvatores. This I did not ask. If she is Stefan's girlfriend, I have officially gotten the confirmation that these two have some serious issues.

At least the girl knows she looks like Katherine. I don't want to imagine our encounter with me having to bluff my way out of it. Does Stefan have issues? Yeah, major ones. But at least he was honest.

"Damon should have warned me." I speak up, shaking my head. "I could have killed you."

"I'm glad you ask questions first and then kill." Elena jokes, offering me a small smile. She seems kind and friendly, but I look at her and all I see is that photograph of Katherine, only in HD.

"It was a close call, let me tell you." I sigh, shaking the thought away from me. I didn't kill her, she's very much alive and that's all that matters. Now back to the serious stuff. "So, let me see if I got this right. John Gilbert is your vampire hating uncle and he wants us all dead. Now, you had nothing to do with the tomb, other than the fact that Damon wanted it open so that your vampire double can get out. And your exact vampire double just so happens to be the chick who turned both Damon and Stefan. She was alive all along, somewhere out there. And the two of you are related." I say.

"Yeah, that covers it." Elena nods and I can see it in her eyes; I'm not the only one that's freaked out about all of this. "And you are here to help with what, exactly?" She asks me.

"Damon needs numbers. I'm a number." I shrug. "I'm an extra vampire, since the other one is locked in a basement." I add.

"But… why?"

"Damon." I say. All could be summed up in that one word, that one name. Damon is the only reason and the only explanation. "There's very little that I wouldn't do for that idiot."

"You really love him that much?" Elena asks me with a raised eyebrow and a voice full of doubt.

"Love, debt… a little bit of both." I chuckle. "That's one hell of a mix right there."

"Do you really owe him that much?" Elena corrects herself and both of us start laughing.

"Yeah, I kind of do." I confirm. "Besides, I don't really want to see him dead. I do love the guy."

"How come Stefan's never mentioned you?" Elena asks me.

"Well, we've never met. And finding a friend of Damon's, well… let's just say that finding a unicorn would be less of a surprise." I smile at her as she laughs before turning all serious again.

"Have you ever dealt with what he's dealing with?" She asks me.

"I'm afraid not." I shake my head. "I was lucky to have help and guidance when I turned. I managed not to go crazy then, and I haven't gone crazy since." I tell her.

"Do you have any idea how we could help him?" the girl asks me. I can see the worry on her face along with a frown that will cost her a few wrinkles in a couple of years.

As much as I wanted to applaud her bravery, I also wanted to smack some sense into her, tell her to run away from these guys and never come back. It was the worry on her face that made me stick to the first option; applaud and help. No smacking.

"As far as I know, you're doing everything by the book." I shrug. "No human blood, only animal blood. I'd say you should talk to him from a safe distance, but I'm sure you've covered that too."

"I've been doing that for days." Elena confirms.

"This isn't an anger issue; this is addiction and going cold turkey. He's going to need more than a couple of days." I say. I try to calm myself down with a deep breath, but I already feel the anger boiling in me; anger directed towards Damon and Damon alone. It doesn't matter how much trouble he's in, he never should have let Elena handle this. She's a human; not only is it dangerous but it's also… useless. It may be worth it, if she can play on Stefan's emotions, but she knows nothing about being a vampire. "You're going to have to be strong and patient. I hope you're not a quitter."

"I'm not." She shakes her head. "Not when it comes to Stefan."

Again, I remind myself not to try and make her see reason and run away; some people can't be told.

"Then keep it up. Go, talk to him. I know you didn't come here to chat with me." I smile at her. "If it'll make you feel any better, I'll listen in for a commotion; if something happens, I'll be there to help."

"Would you do that?" Elena asks and when I nod my head, she properly smiles, for the first time since I met her. "Thank you for this." She tells me; she didn't have to; her big, doe eyes said it all to me.

"Don't mention it." I shake my head and smile as she walks away from the living room and down toward the basement.

I can only hope this day won't end up with me killing Damon's brother. That wouldn't be a good move.

…

Eavesdropping was never really my thing. When you live with your brother and his girlfriend and you have supernatural hearing, you train yourself to ignore certain noises.

Luckily for me, I didn't have to completely focus on Elena and Stefan's conversation. I just listened in for any signs of trouble, any sudden noises that shouldn't be there. As I was doing that, I made lunch.

Finding actual human food in Damon's fridge was a surprise on it's own; finding fresh, high quality food was a miracle not even Moses could handle.

Chopping ingredients was my stress relief; I always chop up more than I actually need. And my chicken parmesan was almost done by the time Elena showed up in the kitchen, looking as if the rain just stared and soaked her parade completely.

"Did it work?" I ask, already knowing the answer. He said no to Bambi blood, it was obvious.

"No." Elena confirms with a sigh as she sits and leans on the kitchen island. "I just don't know what to do anymore. I tried being nice and loving, I've tried being mean. And nothing worked. It's like he's just trying to stave himself to death." She mumbles. Okay, this girl needs some help.

"It might be what he wants." I sigh as I walk over to the fridge; I pull out two bottles of beer; I open them, using my hand instead of an opener; I offer one bottle to Elena.

"I'm underage." She shakes her head. I chuckle at her comment.

"And I'm 50? Who gives a shit?" I ask. With a guilty smile, Elena grabs the bottle from my hand.

"That's so weird." Elena mumbles before taking a gulp of beer. "Stefan and Damon have over 100 years. That's not an age you can imagine. 50 I can imagine. 50 I know. And you don't look 50." She smiles.

"Exactly." I smile proudly at her. "Hell I even look younger than 21, which would be my actual age. In vampire years, I'm a baby. And to that, I raise a toast." I say, making Elena laugh as we clink our bottles.

"But… what did you mean when you said he might be trying to starve himself?" She asks me.

"Well, it would never actually work." I sigh, already regretting mentioning it to her. "If those vampires got out after not having a lick of blood for 150 years, we can count that as confirmation. If he hasn't shut down his emotions, and I'm guessing that he hasn't, the guilt must be killing him."

"How do you deal with the guilt?" Elena asks.

"I don't." I say, earning a confused look from her. "I've never killed a human. Hence, no guilt."

"You've never killed a human?" She asks me in disbelief.

"Nope." I shake my head. "Which doesn't mean it's easy for me to fight the urge. It's not. It's always there, it never leaves. But like I said, I had help. And I had to live with a human after I turned. Plus, I kind of like not being the killer." I add with a chuckle.

"I'm sure Stefan told you this, but everything is magnified with us." I tell her as I lean on the island, beer bottle in hand. "Every single emotion that we feel is heightened. Guilt is a bitch even in the normal measure. But heightened? It's like guilt on crack. It's not good. And it sure as heal isn't easy to ignore."

"But… how can starving himself help him in any way?" She asks me.

Am I really going to have to give her a vampire 101 class? Why didn't her boyfriend cover this? Why is Damon ignoring this? I'm stuck with this task, and let's face, the girl needs to get some answers.

"I told you, I don't know him. I can only guess." I shrug, walking over to the oven to check on my meal; so far, so good. It should be out in a few. "If he's trying to stay hungry forever, he's on a right track. No blood? Check. Confinement? Check. If he's on a hunger strike and ends up in a room full of humans, it would not end well. I have never met a vampire that would choose that as a way to go, especially because you won't technically go anywhere." I tell her as I walk back to the kitchen island and my beer bottle. "It's painful. And with no good results. Why he's doing it… I really can't say." I tell her.

"Is there a way for a vampire too, you know… commit suicide?" She asks me. I could tell that she's choosing her words carefully, not wanting to touch on a sensitive subject. She really seems nice.

"If a human can turn a gun around and fire it into it's head, a vampire can stake himself." I tell her with a small smile. "Personally, I'd walk into the sunlight without my ring. It's more poetic, albeit painful. If Stefan wanted to end himself, he wouldn't be doing this. He's just torturing himself." I tell her.

"What about your humanity? Have you ever turned it off?" She asks and I shake my head.

"Never. I like the human part of me." I shrug. "If you think about it, I'm like a vampire hippy." I joke, smiling at the girl. "Never killed a human, never killed a vampire. I hope you're hungry." I comment as I finally get the food out of the oven; it smells heavenly!

"Zoe, did Damon turn you?" Elena asks.

I put down the oven tray and turn around to look at her. She has a sheepish look on her face, as if she knows that she might have taken it a step too far. In her defense, it was an obvious question.

The girl has some balls.

"Yeah." I admit. "A while ago, he turned me and I owe him my life." I say, before turning around to serve us both lunch. I refuse to go into details; if she can ask, I can refuse to answer.

Elena is nice and definitely brave. My problem is not with her. My problem is with the very idea of her. A human, thrown into this vampire business, completely unprepared and unprotected. I could kick Damon to hell and back, right with Stefan, for doing this to her in the first place.

"Stefan describes it as a curse." Elena tells me. "Lexi, Stefan's friend? She told me some of you do it out of love. Some of you never have a choice. What was your case?" She asks. She's officially pushing it.

"None of the above." I say as I hand her a plate. "I'm not a vampire groupie, Damon wasn't madly in love with me and I sure as hell didn't do it out of boredom. Some of us chose it simply because we don't have a different option. Now, that's another story. A story I'd rather not revisit. Bon appetite." I smile at her.

Elena was obviously smart too; she knew how to take a hint.

The two of us reached a silent agreement: No more vampire talk.

We had a quite enjoyable conversation. She's one of those girls I used to be friends with when I was at school; they were always pretty, good at everything they do and universally loved. I guess I was one of those girls too, with a dash of cynicism. All in all, it was easy finding a topic with Elena, even if it had nothing to do with vampires.

"I have a favor to ask of you." She asks with a guilty look on her face as we approach the front door. I nod, urging her to speak. "Could you try to stop Damon if he's… well, mean? I have a feeling he wants to use this opportunity to push Stefan's buttons, and I don't think that would be helpful for him."

"No worries." I reassure her. "I've been trying to make Damon see sense since the 80's. I'll keep an eye out; see if he's planning to cross the line." I nod, knowing Damon might not live long enough to do that.

"Thank you." Elena tells me; the honesty was obvious on her face. She's easy to read, with kind eyes and a nice smile. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow."

"I'm on house arrest. Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow." I tell her, laughing.

…

As I was waiting for him, sitting in the enormous living room, with my feet on the table, I thought about all the creative ways I could end Damon's life. My personal favorite would be staking him; keep it classy.

"All is good on the outside!" He yells joyfully as he walks into the house; I say nothing as I wait. His grin drops when he sees me looking at him with a frown. "What's wrong with you, sourpuss?"

"She looks like Katherine? She looks like Katherine!?" I yell, seeing the realization on his face. "Jesus, Damon, how stupid are you? You think that was a good description?"

"Okay, I may have downplayed it a little bit." He admits, talking super-fast. "I didn't think you needed more, I didn't even know you knew how Katherine looked like!"

"I saw her photo, just today! This has to be the downplay of the century! Seriously, are you crazy?"

"Okay, in my defense, "She looks absolutely the same as Katherine" is not a good conversation starter."

"If you knew how close I was to killing her, you'd think it was a perfect conversation starter!" I snap.

"You didn't kill her, did ya?" He asks, looking a bit worried.

"No!" I yell in annoyance. "I don't think your brother would take that well now, would he?"

"No, probably not." Damon admits. "It's over now, she's alive and you know." He sighs.

"Anything else you'd like to tell me?" I ask him, staring at him suspicion.

"Like what?"

"Anything I need to know but you're too afraid of telling me? Something like that?" I offer.

"No." He shakes his head.

"So, you staying in Mystic Falls has nothing to do with Elena, huh?" I ask him.

I knew it the second I saw the girl. He could deny it as much as he likes and he probably will, but I know it. She's like the better version of the love of his life. Kinder, nicer, more normal and above all, human.

And she's also with his brother. I'd say that's his type.

For years. We have been friends for years.

I know he hates this town. I know he doesn't particularly like his younger brother. With Katherine out of the tomb, he had no reasons to stay here, or so I thought. Until I saw Elena.

I know him. His frown is but a confirmation.

"You think I stayed because of Elena?" He asks me, huffing and raising his eyebrows; if they were raised any higher, they'd reach the ceiling. "No, Zoe. Stefan was the one who was stupid enough to fall for Katherine's exact double."

"Right, and you were stupid enough to try and go back to her." I comment, making him roll his eyes. "I'm sure you were so happy when you found out she wasn't in the tomb after all. For all I know, you see Elena as the next best thing. Hell, she might even be better. At least this one is nice."

"And with my brother."

"You say that like that stopped you before." I say, knowing very well I hit a sore spot. "Katherine was with him too. You always want something you can't have. That's your MO. You've always been like that and I doubt you will ever change it." I say.

I might just live to regret my honesty for this one.

"History will not repeat itself with Elena." He promises, sounding more serious than I have ever heard him sound.

"I'm just worried." I shrugged, hoping to avoid his anger. The small smile he gives me was the confirmation I needed. He sits on the couch next to me and I lean over, resting my head on his shoulder.

He might mean all of it now, but that can easily change. Perhaps he's in denial. Even if he's telling me the truth, that can change overnight. And if it does, I'm not sure if it'll end up well for him.

"You and your brother have some serious issues." I say, smiling when I feel Damon's body shaking with laughter. "Both you and Mr. Grumpy Pants there in the basement. Dr. Phil would have a blast with you."


	4. Clothed And Unarmed

**Next one will be up in a few days!  
Let me know what you think :)**

It was a perfectly fine day and I was stuck inside. For someone who almost lost her mind while hiding from the sun for two years, I wasn't happy with that. Unfortunately, I didn't have a say in it.

Fake lashes or not? Nah, I'm keeping it simple. A dress or jeans and shirt? Jeans and shirt.

I picked out a shirt when I heard a noise from downstairs. At first, I thought it was Elena. It took me a few seconds to realize that Elena wouldn't make such a noise. And that I could easily place Damon in the kitchen and Stefan in the basement. This was someone else.

I waste no time as I run downstairs. I was right about it being someone else. Not wishing to put my trust in the wrong person, I run into the guy, knocking him down on the floor and ending up on top of him.

"Who the hell are you?" I ask, pressing his neck the same way I did with Elena just yesterday.

"Alaric! Ric! Teacher! Hunter!" He grunts under the pressure of my hand; he stares at me wide eyed, probably trying to realize what the hell is going on. He… he looks good. I smile as I stop pressing his neck, but I do not move. Unlike for Elena, Damon actually bothered warning me about this one.

"Nice to meet ya Ric." I smile brightly. "For a vampire hunter, you should be better in sneaking up on actual vampires. I could hear you from a mile away."

"Who the hell are you?" He asks in confusion, looking at me like I'm crazy.

"Zoe, get off the history teacher; you're in your lingerie." Damon comments as he walks by us and into the living room, sounding as if he was bored out of his mind.

"Oops." I shrug, smiling at Alaric. I smile again, when I see his confusion grow when I get up in the speed of light. I offer him a helping hand and after staring at it for a few moments, he takes it and I help him get up. "Nice to meet you, Ric. I'm Zoe. And you should practice your sneaking around." I add.

"Again, who are you?" He asks, wide eyed.

"His friend." I say, nodding my head in Damon's direction. "And you're the vampire hunter whose wife that Damon turned just so happens to be Elena's biological mother? Or am I missing something?" I ask.

"Nope, that covers it." Ric tells me, looking away faster than I thought was possible; me being in my underwear bothered him. I smile, knowing that I picked out a good day to wear something fancier.

"Ric, over here." Damon waves him over. "And you, put some clothes on." He tells me in a warning tone.

"Jeez, first you want me naked and now you want me dressed… pick one, man." I joke as I walk away from the two of them and up the staircase. I can hear Damon's laughter as I leave.

I wasn't in a rush now; attending the briefing would do me nothing good, as Damon's still insisting on me keeping a low profile. As bored as I am, I'd rather be bored and alive then dead.

My only real purpose here is making Damon less bored. And that's it.

When I finally decide to join them, Alaric was alone in the living room; I could hear Damon rummaging through the basement. Alaric jumps up in surprise as I walk into the room; I have to laugh.

"I'm clothed and unarmed." I inform him, raising my hands as if I was surrendering. He does smile at me. "I do think you should try knocking, though."

"I agree." He nods. "So, you're Damon's friend? Like, really?" His need to check made me laugh.

"Yeah, really." I laugh. "I might just be the only person that actually likes him. Kind of." I add.

"Probably." Alaric nods. "How long have you known him for?"

"We met in 1987." I tell him. He does a double take; for a moment there, he must have forgotten I was a vampire too. "I'm 50. I prefer to say 21, but in reality, I'm 50." I explain. "Now, how did a vampire hunter end up working with the same vampire that turned his wife?" I ask him.

"To be fair, I tried killing him. Didn't really work." Alaric says with a frown.

"Such a shame, right?"

"Go to hell, the both of you!" Damon yells all the way down from the basement; both Alaric and I laugh at his comment. If he could hear us that clearly, we must have been annoying the hell out of Stefan.

"And how did you end up in a town full of vampire hunters?" Alaric asks me with a smirk.

"Huh. Damon called." I shrug. "I have a habit of saving his ass every now and then. This is just one of those times." I tell him. I leave out the part where this is the most dangerous thing I ever was involved in; he doesn't need to know that. He might be on our side, but he's still a vampire hunter. And I'd rather not reveal all my secrets to him.

"Okay, enough gossip with the two of you." Damon announces as he joins us again. "You and I, we're off." He says, pointing at Alaric before turning to me. "You are on house arrest, keeping an eye out on Stefan. Chop-chop; bonding time is over." He snaps, clapping his hands to urge Ric to move faster.

"Yay." I sigh, not even bothering to fake my excitement.

…

"Forever we tried to make it right, but together we saw the end in sight…" I sing along to Haim's 'Forever' while working on some pizza dough.

The setting is same as yesterday; me in the kitchen, listening on to Elena and Stefan, waiting for a reason to jump to Elena's defense. To his credit, Stefan is yet to give me a reason to interrupt them.

I really went all out today; best mozzarella and prosciutto, fresh pizza dough and homemade tomato sauce, courtesy of Nona Elba, a lovely old lady who was kind enough to teach me some authentic recipes while I was traveling through Italy a few years back.

"God, that smells amazing." Elena sighs, stopping in front of the kitchen to enjoy the smell properly.

"Just in time." I grin at her as I pull out one of the pizzas out the oven; I plate it and hand it to her. After all, she's the human here. I eat because I want to, not because I have to.

"Yup, it tastes even better." Elena mumbles with a full mouth; that pizza is hot! I don't know how she managed to eat it without burning her tongue. "I'll have to take a piece of this to Stefan; maybe he'll warm up to it. Even human food is better than no food." She sighs.

"He's still not drinking Bambi blood?" I ask her, the worried look on her face answering before she had a chance to do it. "What the hell is he trying to accomplish?" I mumble, speaking to myself.

"Zoe, could I ask you for a favor?" Elena sheepishly asks and I nod. "Would you maybe try and talk to him?" She asks me. I freeze, holding a slice of pizza inches away from my mouth, staring at her.

"Huh? Elena, I never met him. How would you expect me to help someone I don't even know?"

"Zoe, I'm human." She shakes her head in annoyance. "No matter how hard I try, I'll never understand what it is you're going through. I'll never know that hunger. Damon might know it, but him and Stefan… That would be a disaster in the making. You know what that hunger feels like. You can understand him. And I'm pretty sure you wouldn't try messing with his emotions like Damon would. Out of all three of us, you're best suited for this, even if you don't know him at all." She explains.

She had a point. I do know what it's like. And I'd get no joy in messing with him. Damon would probably use it, let's be honest. Elena has a point, but that doesn't mean it is ever going to work.

"Elena, he probably won't react to it well. Nobody likes a smart ass. Especially not a smart ass you've never met before." I shake my head. "I can try, but it'll probably end badly. And even if it works, it won't just magically fix everything. He'd probably still stay there." I warn her. If I'm going to go through with this, the least I can do is to make sure she doesn't have unrealistic expectations.

"It wouldn't hurt us to try." Elena lights up, realizing I will agree to this if she keeps up her efforts. "He's locked up; he couldn't touch you. The worst he could do is to tell you to go to hell."

"Well, I've been told worst." I shrug, making Elena laugh. I sigh, knowing deep down that eventually I will end up regretting it. One day, maybe years from now, this will come around to bite me on the ass. I meddled too much. "If he tries something, I'm staking him." I warn her, earning a wide eyed look of shock. "Not in the heart." I promise, almost sounding disappointed.

"Please not in the heart."

…

I just know this is a bad idea. I know it; I can feel it in my bones. And not even knowing how bad this is could stop me from walking down the stairs, cigarettes in my back pocket, stake in one hand and a plate with pizza in the other. Seriously, do I have a death wish?

A smell hits me, making me stop in my tracks. It's sweet. Too sweet, actually. It takes me a second to realize its vervain. I might not be that weak for it as I was before, but I had a close encounter with it.

Apparently, Damon's cultivating it. Well, I have one reason more to avoid the basement.

"Hello there, Grumpy Pants." I say in a cheerful voice; I definitely have his attention now. I walk over to the door of his cell, opening the small door at the bottom of it, and I slide in the plate. "I hope you like pizza." I say as I close the door and take my place on the floor. Okay. Now what?

"Who are you?" a broken voice asks me.

He's not doing well. He sounds tired, like he is ill or something. His voice is broken, cracking.

"Zoe. Zoe Cooper. Damon's friend." I say, trying to keep my voice as cheerful as it was before. I hear a scoff and I roll my eyes. "If I had a dollar for every time someone reacted that way…"

"So, you're the one that's been playing all the music?" He asks.

"Damn, I'm sorry if it bothered you." I sigh. "What gave me away?"

"I had my doubts with Muse, but Dr. Dre was the confirmation." He says. I actually start laughing.

"Yeah, not really Damon's style." I agree. "You should try that pizza. I made it. I'm awesome. And it'll help you with the cravings if you plan on refusing Bambi blood." I tell him.

I was expecting him to ignore me, but after a few seconds later, I can hear chewing sounds.

"This is actually really good." He says, sounding surprised; a proud smile appears on my face.

"I told ya. I'm awesome."

"You might be a cook here, but you're not here to bring me lunch. Why are you here?" He asks.

"I'm here to talk."

"To talk?" Stefan asks, sounding as if he has his doubts about my sanity. "I don't even know you."

"Whoa, easy there, Grumpy Pants!" I warn him. "It's not like I volunteered to do this. Your girl asked me to. And your brother asked me to help in the first place. I'd take it easy, if I were you. Jeez, at first I was joking but Grumpy Pants really suits you." I frown. I don't like him. Too bossy, too serious.

"Why did Elena ask you to do this?" He asks. And he's obsessed with her. It figures.

"It's not as crazy as it seems." I laugh. "The two of you can be lovey dovey as much as you'd like, but that doesn't mean she understands what you're going through. And Damon's an ass when he's around you. I, on the other hand, know what you are going through and most definitely am not an ass." I explain. For a while, he says nothing. "Like it or not, Grumpy Pants, I'm your best shot." I add.

"Fine. So let's talk. Which lecture are you going to give?" He asks me. Ouch, he sounds annoyed now.

"Huh. I haven't thought that far in advance." I say, thinking of what to say. How do I snap some sense into him when I have no idea who he is? "Oh, I have a good one! Do you have time?" I snicker.

"You're kidding, right?" He asks. I can't hold back my laughter.

"Okay, okay. I'll tell you my story. And I don't talk about this shit too often, so I'd appreciate you keeping your mouth shut." I warn him. I could count on my fingers how many people know this story; if I'm going to pour my heart out to him, he'd better know how to shut his pie hole. "Okay, so it starts in 1966. New Haven, Connecticut. I don't know if you've ever been there, but it's a beautiful place. That's my home town. Mom was a painter, Dad was an architect; I was their first born. Two years later, a golden retriever puppy named Boxer showed up. And two years after that, my brother Theo was born."

"I'm sure you remember the 70's better than I do, so I'll save you that story." I sigh. "We were the perfect little family. Dad didn't work too much, always home in time for dinner. Mom worked from home, so she was always there for us. And Theo and I got along perfectly."

"When did it all go wrong?" Stefan speaks up and I chuckle.

"Easy there, Grumpy Pants, I've only started talking." I warn him. "I'll tell you the short version. I was a fire cracker. I guess you could call me a nerd too, but I had my wild moments. And my biggest wild moment was deciding to be an actress and not a lawyer, doctor or something as heavy as that. I had big dreams, big dreams of New York. And my family was crazy enough to support me. I had no expectations when I applied for Julliard while still a senior; I had no expectations, but I got in." I smile as I remember.

It was the most perfect day; Mom and Dad invited all of our family friends and relatives; my friends were there and so was Brad, my high school sweetheart. Married now, with three beautiful kids. But back then, he was my guy. For the whole day, we celebrated my acceptance letter. All day long barbeque.

"Did you even make it to New York?" Stefan asks me.

Well, at least he's interested in the story.

"Oh yeah." I grin, remembering it. "Bright lights and all. New York, 1984 was the place to be. I had so much fun back then. I studied, yes and I had to have a part time job, but I had the time of my life. For a while, it really was perfect. A real dream come true. For two years, it was amazing. But then, as you said it, it had to go wrong. And it all went south when my brother called me to tell me our parents are dead."

I stop to take a deep breath, before swiftly moving on, not wanting to remember those details.

"He was safe, thank God; he was a home when it happened. Car accident. I rushed to New Haven, freaked out of my mind. Our remaining family turned their backs to us. Our grandparents were long dead and my Mom's sister promised to always be there for us. Except when we really needed her. I was a legal adult at the time, so I could become Theo's guardian. And since I was selfish enough to want to stay in New York, chasing my dreams, we relocated there. We sold our house. See, my parent's haven't left us much; in their defense, they thought they had a few more decades to live. We were left with the house and a little bit of money. For a while, it was enough. But New York is an expensive place."

"You couldn't afford it?" Stefan asks.

"Not with Julliard, no. Soon enough I had to find a second job. Two jobs, school and a younger brother to take care of. Something had to go." I shake my head. "On one hand I had my dream and on the other hand I had my brother."

"And you chose your brother?" Stefan asks.

"And I am yet to regret it." I confirm. "This may come as a surprise to you, but the worst is yet to come. So, my dream was over and I left school. At that point, I started to hate New York. Moving away would have been better for us; rent is cheaper literally everywhere else in the world. But Theo had just settled into school and I didn't want to make him change sceneries again. And I suppose that a part of me was still hoping that one day I'll have my shoot." I sigh.

Now I get to the bad part. And I need to talk it out as fast as I possibly can.

"So, I did two jobs, occasionally even three. We had food, his school was paid and that was enough for me. Of course, that kind of lifestyle took a toll; one night I just fell to the ground, in the middle of my shift at the bar. I ended up in the ER. I just thought I was tired, you know? But the doctors didn't let me go that easily. Long story short, they did tests and I found out I have a brain tumor. Now, if that happened to me now, in 2016, it could be treated. Back then? It was wishful thinking." I sigh.

"What happened then?"

"I didn't say a word of it to my brother." I sigh as I remember my own stupidity. "For a while, he knew nothing. When he did find out, it wasn't pretty. But I had my meds and I took them. I was really, really sick and I didn't stop working. I had to work for us. My brother tried stopping me, without much success. God knows how many times he held my hair while I was sick. I was weak but I had to keep it up. So I did. Until one night, March 12th, 1987, a guy named Damon Salvatore walked into my bar."

"Did Damon turn you?" Stefan speaks up again.

"Easy there, Grumpy Pants." I chuckle. "First, he flirted with me. He was this mysterious, hot guy on the other side of the bar and I liked him. Thinking I didn't have much time left anyways, I had no doubts about letting him take me home that night. We ended up in the back alley when my shift was over. He was about to feed on me; at the time, I thought he was going to kiss me." I laugh, remembering my own stupidity. I really was gullible. "Of course, when he smelled me, he could tell my blood wasn't as strong. I was sick and he could feel it. And instead of breaking my neck, he asked me what was wrong. What made him act that way, I still don't know, and it's been 29 years. But he asked and I broke down in tears." I sigh. "We ended up drinking some more, with me telling him my life story. You can imagine how drunk I was when I didn't run out of that bar screaming when he told me he was a vampire and he that he thinks he can cure me." I laugh.

"I was so drunk I actually agreed to all of it. I drank his blood. The next morning, that Damon you consider evil? He went to the doctor's office with me. They did all the tests and called it a miracle. Just like that, I was cured. I was healthy again. That same night, we celebrated. It would have been an all-night celebration, had I not fainted in the middle of it." I recall with a sad smile.

"It didn't work." Stefan comments.

"Of course it didn't." I confirm. "He could barely bring me back; I had to drink a lot of his blood. In a moment of sheer lunacy, I let him take me back to my place, where my brother was. For hours, the three of us talked; we told him everything. I asked millions of questions. I had my doubts until my brother told me to do it; that was the only way he could keep me. It was either being a vampire or being nothing at all. It was this or death." I sigh.

"Of course, you know my choice. Damon broke my neck. When I woke up I made him keep Theo away from me and I reached for the blood bag instead; Damon couldn't believe his eyes. I was in the process of turning and I completely ignored a perfectly fine human next to me. I guess him being my brother made the choice easy for me. I managed not to hurt him. I managed to live with him, to keep my life somewhat normal. I never killed a human being. I fed on them, I'm not gonna lie. But I always stopped."

"So, Damon saved your life?" Stefan asks me and I can hear the surprise in his voice.

"He didn't just save it. He gave me my life back." I say, smiling. "I had days, weeks if I was lucky. And when I would finally die, I'd die in great pain. No one would be able to take care of my brother. He'd be all alone. And I'd die at 21. No one should die at 21, Stefan. No one. The life I have now is not perfect, not by any means. But when I fight my hunger, when I feel it take over me, I just remember why I chose this to begin with. And it goes away. In a second, it goes away, because I at least get to live." I tell him.

"I'm sorry you had to go through all of that." He tells me in a low voice, after a very long silence. "I'm glad your story ended well, but I am confused as to why you're telling me this." He admits.

I didn't do it to make Damon seem like a good guy. I didn't do it to make Stefan feel better or worse.

"I know your story, albeit from Damon's point of view. It would only be fair for you to know mine." I tell him with a sigh. "Then as I was talking, I realized it did have a point. We all live for something, Stefan." I say with a compassionate look even though I knew he could never see it. "Some of us live this life for love. Some of us live this life only for the fun of it. Others, like me, never really had a proper choice. So, I suppose you could say that my reason is simply living. I know you didn't have a choice either, even if our situations are not that similar. But you have Elena now. She can be your reason. I can only sit here and guess what your reasons are, Stefan, but any guess is as good as the other one. You know what it is. And whatever it is, you need to grab it and hold onto it, because your reason is the only thing that can pull you out of this basement and out of this mess that you are in." I snap.

I was an emotional human. I guess that makes me an even more emotional human.

"It's going to take more than that, Zoe." Stefan speaks up. "You don't know that guilt. You never killed."

"Maybe that's true, but I do know guilt. Guilt is still guilt, even if it has a different form. Besides, I knew it wouldn't work. I can't just wave my wand and magically fix you in seconds." I add, smiling. "With any luck, I might have reached a deep dark part of you that needed reaching."

"Maybe you did." Stefan says, and I think, I think, I hear a bit of laughter there. That's all I needed to know; the door isn't closed. It's hardly wide open, but at least it's not closed. "Thank you. For sharing all of this and for helping them." He tells me. I smile as I get up.

"You're welcome. It was nice to meet you." I say, standing in front of the bars, hoping to catch a glimpse of his face.

"Yeah, likewise." He says and finally, I see him. I was expecting Damon 2.0, not this. He's gorgeous, there's no denying that, but he doesn't look like D at all. Great chin line, but not Damon's. Nice eyes, but they aren't that beautiful shade of light blue. I watch in confusion as his smile melts away and is replaced with a wide – eyed look of complete shock. "Cleo?"

"Huh?"

"You went by Cleo, right?" He asks as my confusion only grows. "In the 30's. I met you before."

"Um, no." I slowly shake my head, wondering if the lack of blood is messing with his mind. "I told you I was born in 1966. My parents weren't even born in the 30's." I tell him.

"Really?" He asks me in surprise and I slowly nod my head. "You look… exactly like her. Lexi introduced us back then. You… it's like Katherine and Elena. Only Cleo had short hair and was blond."

"It's your mind playing tricks on you." I smile, shaking my head. "I'd never go blonde. And I do have one of those faces. Elena and Katherine looking alike is just messing with your mind." I shake it off.

I can tell by the look on his face that he isn't sure whether he should believe me or not.

"It's been 80 years. Stefan, I wouldn't joke with this." I tell him, dead serious. I would never do that.

"Yeah, probably." He nods his head. His eyes are telling me a different story; there's still that stare. The look of surprise he had confirmed that he's not making this up. Then again, neither am I. It must be his mind. With a wild past like his, some memories are bound to be lost and mixed up. "Thank you." He tells me again, getting more control of his facial expressions. "Please try and keep Elena out of here."

"You know her better than I do, Grumpy Pants, and even I know there's no use in stopping her." I laugh. "We'll get you out of here. And when we do, you can thank me then. Or, even better, you can pour us both a drink and tell me all about this girl I reminded you of and your side of the story. I'm fairly certain Damon was biased when telling it. See you later, Grumpy Pants." I sigh, offering him one last smile.

He returns it and I nod my head before walking away.


	5. Under Control

**Here we go guys! Let me know what you think!  
Expect a new chapter soon! :)**

I warned Elena it probably wouldn't work. Confirming it simply cemented that frown on her face for good.

Luckily for me, she had other things to do. I had too much on my mind to be a calming person one could turn to for reassurance.

What Stefan told me earlier kept bugging me. I don't know him enough, or at all even, but I have a feeling he would never play with something like this. I know how to read people. He wasn't lying.

But I wasn't alive in the 30's. There's no possible way.

I ignored it for as long as I could, pushing it into the back of my mind. It didn't work that well; after only a few hours, I decided it was time to blurt it all out to Damon, as we were drinking in his room.

"Stefan said he met me before." I blurt out. I doubt he can hear us, with the loud musing blasting from the stereo. And even if he could, this was hardly a secret. Damon raises his eyebrow at me. "Yeah, that was my reaction too. He called me Cleo. Said Lexi introduced me to him in the 30's." I tell him.

"That's impossible." Damon shakes his head, looking slightly annoyed with me at even telling him this.

"That's what I told him." I nod before taking a big sip of bourbon. "You know him better than I do and even I don't think he'd be joking around with this. You should have seen his face, D. It was proper shock. He's not making it up." I tell him, trying to ignore the wave of worry that threatened to hit me.

"I refuse to believe that as of now, we have two doubles chilling in our house." Damon snaps, going back to his sarcastic self. "Stefan spent a solid decade or two of the first half of the 20th century locked up in a basement like he is now, trying to be a good guy again. He didn't have his ducks in order." He says.

"Yeah, but his ducks are in order now. I'm telling you, D. He was dead serious." I shake my head.

"His ducks are no more in order now than they were in the 1930's." He rolls his eyes at me. "He was a mess then, he's a mess now. It'd be too much. You and Elena both have a history of women looking exactly the same as you do? That's just too big of a coincidence."

"Both vampires." I say, earning a confused look from him. "This Cleo chick was a vampire too. I don't know, D. With Katherine and Elena… Isn't Stefan the kind and righteous Salvatore? Would he lie about this? And I'm not testing you!" I jump up, the look on his face telling me he's about to fight back. "I'm really just asking. For all I know, lying could be his favorite pastime activity."

"Stefan doesn't lie." Damon rolls his eyes at me. "You just said it, he's the good one."

"I didn't mean it like that and you know it."

"He wouldn't lie." He tells me, completely ignoring my comment. "But he probably wasn't in his right mind then, and he sure as hell isn't in his right mind now. He might have hallucinated the whole thing."

"It sure as hell didn't look like a hallucination. He looked worried about it all." I shake my head.

"That's Stefan, Zoe." Damon sighs in annoyance. "That's who he is. He'll look like the best guy in the world even as he's ripping your throat out." He tells me. I feel a chill go over me; that's not the guy I talked to earlier. "You think my ways are wrong but Zoe, Stefan's good now. When Stefan's at his worst, I'm like a cute little, fluffy kitten compared to him." He warns me.

"Wow." I say. That's the only reaction I could come up with.

"Yeah, wow." Damon snaps. "Now, let's please just change the subject?"

What Damon wants, Damon gets. But not without me putting up a bit of a fight.

"Okay. But let me just tell you this." I say as I lean over closer to him, inches separating my face from his. It would have been a bit more threatening if the bed didn't cave in under our weight and caused me to almost lose my balance. I focus back on my "scaring people" face. "If there's a Katherine 2.0 running around, with my face and body, after you just convinced me no such thing is possible, I'll stake you."

At first, he's grinning at me, but I slowly watch as he realizes that this is absolutely not a joke. The possibility of someone else running around with my face is freaking me out. If he convinces me that all of this is insane and I buy it, only to find out that it was true, I'll lose it.

"Fine. If this Cleo isn't a product of Stefan's imagination and actually is your vampire double, I give you permission to stake me." He agrees with a smile, knowing he won't see that day. With the same hope, I smile back. I'm not going to make problems where there are none.

Hopefully, it'll end up being nothing more than Stefan's imagination.

"Fine." I say. "Do you remember LA, back in 1992?" I ask with a wicked grin on my face.

"Why bring that up?" Damon asks me, shaking with laughter.

"You wanted to change the subject." I shrug. "I think I can remember the ingredients for that cocktail."

"Did you call it "Coma"?" He asks, and I nod as I laugh, impressed that he remembers it.

"Yeah! Want me to make it again?" I offer. The very next second, he jumps up the bed.

"Hell yeah! What do we need?" He asks as I get up and follow him into the hallway.

"Tequila, vodka, cherry juice and a blood bag." I smile proudly, remembering my evil concoction that caused a decent amount of memory blanks for Theo, Damon and myself; even Jess experienced it in a virgin version; minus the human blood. It was equally effective.

I didn't call it "Coma" for nothing.

* * *

I didn't like the idea. I didn't like it at all. Even so, I had to sell it to Elena.

"With the tomb vampires out and about and John being your Uncle, Stefan your boyfriend and with the last name Gilbert, I'm afraid you are in more danger than your average girl. You need someone to keep you safe. Stefan can't do that anymore. Basically, it's either me or Damon." I tell her.

I can pinpoint the exact moment her mind changed. When I offered Damon, I knew she was going to take me. Which is definitely better for all of us.

"It's not you." She sighs, shaking her head. "I don't have a problem with you being my baby sitter. I have a problem with having a baby sitter at all." She tells me.

"I'd have a problem with it too." I admit. "But that's the way you live. And you do want to live?"

"I do." She sighs, pouting her mouth a little bit. "Is it a smart idea for you to be around John? I mean, it's his house too." She warns me.

I know it's not a smart idea. Wasn't I supposed to keep a low profile? According to Damon, this is our plan now and it's more important than my low profile. Yay.

"I can handle John." I reassure her, even if I wasn't sure of it myself. "Now, it'll be simpler if we just tell people the truth. I'm Damon's friend. I'm here to visit. Since I'm staying here and you're hanging around here because of Stefan, we got to know each other. And I'm helping you with a history assignment."

"Why history?"

"Because Alaric gave me a good backup story for the school." I tell her, earning a confused look from her. "I can't really protect you if I'm staying at your house while you're at school." I explain.

"So, what will be your cover story?"

"Research. As a history student, it would be good for me to see how it looks like to teach history. Alaric is pitching it to the principle as we speak." I smile.

"You don't really want to do this, do you?" Elena asks, frowning at me.

"What gave me away?" I joke. "Look, it's fine. Yeah, I'll follow you around but let's at least make it a bit fun? We want you alive when Stefan leaves that basement." I add.

"So, when do we start with this?" She asks me, finally smiling. The smile was barely there, though.

"Well, I'll sporadically show up at the school from Monday. Since tomorrow's Saturday, I imagine you'll want to spend more time here than at home, right?" I ask.

"Yeah." She nods her head. By this point, she's looking exhausted. And honestly, I'd be exhausted too. "I want to try and help Stefan as much as I can. I guess that means you're still on house arrest for this weekend." She adds, looking guilty. Oh joy, a human is feeling sorry for me!

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm used to it." I sigh.

* * *

With a cigarette between my teeth I type away, squinting from the smoke that was getting into my eyes; I couldn't stop now; I was on a roll.

"Honey, I'm home!" Damon yells cheerfully; I don't move my eyes away from the screen as I keep on typing. I hear him walking into the room "What the hell are you doing?" He asks.

I imagine what this looks like to him. I'm in a gigantic sweatshirt, my hair up in a bun at the top of my head and I'm wearing glasses I don't really need. Not to mention the cigarette, or the fact that I was in the most awkward position ever, leaning over to reach the laptop that sat on the table.

"I'm writing." I mumble, trying not to drop the cigarette.

"You're crazy."

"And you knew that." I agree, finally taking the cigarette between my fingers. With Damon back home, I probably won't have a chance to write a single sentence. Oh well, I'm not in a rush.

"I have news." He announces as he takes a seat on the sofa next to me. "Alaric made it work. You can go into the school without anyone asking any questions." He tells me.

"Great. Now we only have to figure out how keeping me in front of John Gilbert's nose is going to do us any good." I say. It's a stupid plan. If I'm going to go through with it, I need more reassurance.

"Well, now that I know what John Gilbert wants, that's going to be a piece of cake." He smiles proudly.

"What does he want?" I ask and watch as Damon pulls something out of his back pocket; he holds it between his fingers and it turns it so that I can see; it looks like a very old pocket watch or compass. "He wants a vintage watch?" I ask, giving him a doubtful look.

"It's not an old watch. Based on what I've been told, it can be used as a weapon against vampires."

"How are you holding it, then?" I ask, looking at the little thing; it doesn't look like a weapon at all.

"My guess would be that it's broken." He tells me, putting it back in his pocket. "But since John wants it, it's more likely that it's simply not complete. That it's only a part of a weapon." He explains.

"Where did you even get that from? How do you know all of this?" I ask him. Now is not the time for him to be secretive. If I'm going to put myself in danger because of him, and I'm already doing that, the least he can do is give me some explanations, answer some of my questions.

"One of the tomb vampires gave it to me." Damon tells me, earning a questioning look. "This one doesn't want to attack anyone. I knew Pearl back when I was human. She took this from Jonathan Gilbert before she ended up in the church. And John asked her for it. Let's just say that John is the last person she would give this too. Especially if it's weapon." He explains.

"I'm gonna go on a limb here and assume you'll protect that thing with your life?"

"Yup!" He grins at me. "John Gilbert will have to pry it out of my dead, cold hand." He smiles proudly, as if this was all a challenge to him. Knowing him, it probably was. "First thing's first: don't let him know we have it." He tells me.

"Do you really think it's a good idea for me to hang around John Gilbert's house?" I ask him.

"He'd be blind." Damon shakes his head. "If he's looking for this, if he wants it as bad as Pearl claims he does, he'll be stupid enough to notice that a vampire is hanging around with his niece." He tells me.

"I'm not sure if I like this optimistic Damon." I mumble.

Damon was the "oh shit, let's run" type of guy. He was never the one to make an effort to fix things. If the solution wasn't simple, that was it; he'd give up and walk away. Seeing Damon putting up a fight and actually trying to protect someone was a first for me.

I watch him as he gets up from the sofa; he walks behind me, where he pours himself a drink. I wait for his response, but he takes his time, as he returns to his place next to me.

"He won't get it." He calmly states, twirling the glass over and over. "I don't care what he does; he won't get it. As of now, you and I are the only ones who know I have this and I'd like to keep it that way.

"Who would I even tell?" I ask in confusion.

"Oh, I don't know? Your new friends, maybe?" Damon asks. Of course, he tries hard to sound casual, but I know him well enough to recognize a trace of jealousy behind his laidback demeanor.

He's a jealous type. Always has been, always will be.

"Okay, if you're going to go all sulky on me, with your "your my friend and not their" act, drop it, right now." I warn him. He rolls his eyes at me. "I can be their friend too. That doesn't change that you're the reason I'm hear. It doesn't mean you wouldn't be the first one I'd rescue out of a burning building?"

"So, I'm still your best friend?" He asks and I smile, leaning over, putting my hand on his cheek.

"Always." I smile at him. "You know I'm always here for you, you know you can always trust me. But if you are telling me this, and not your brother or his girlfriend, and you are all on the same side… I'm afraid you have some serious trust issues, Damon."

"With good reason." He tells me.

"You do know I'm not going anywhere? Like, ever?" I ask him, smiling.

"I do." He smiles back, grabbing my hand that was on his face and kissing the back of it. "Team?"

"Damn right."

* * *

Today has been surprisingly uneventful, especially for the Mystic Falls' standard.

Once reassuring Theo and Jess that I am absolutely safe, I had nothing else to do. Damon was God knows where, Elena was running between her home and the basement and Stefan was still very much down there. After making lunch, I was hit with a lot of free time. So, I worked on my paper.

I loved the kitchen here; surprisingly high tech and modern, compared to the rest of the house. Since I was the only person in this house that could actually cook, at least as far as I know, it was guaranteed to be the most peaceful corner. The kitchen island served as my desk and I got down to business.

Chewing the end of a pencil and skimming over some expert article, I hear Elena coming up the stairs and heading directly my way; that was the downside. As quite as it was, they all knew where to find me.

"Still not drinking the Bambi blood?" I ask, not even moving my eyes away from the screen in front of me. I hear her sigh and when I do look over the computer, I see her frowning and sulking.

"No." She sighs, confirming my suspicions. I shrug before turning my attention back to the article. "Do vampires normally wear glasses?"

"No. But I look cute." I say with a smile, earning a lighthearted chuckle from her, albeit brief. Then, her expression changed. I can practically see the light bulb over her head. "Why do I have a feeling that you are going to suggest something incredibly stupid right now?" I ask, pushing the laptop to the side.

"Because you're like, super smart and always right?" She offers.

"Nice one, but it's not gonna save you." I smile, shaking my head. "What is it? Spit it out."

"We're not really giving Stefan the benefit of a doubt, are we?" She asks me and I scoff.

"No, we're not. And for a very good reason. He can't be trusted with the benefit of a doubt."

"What if he can?" She asks.

"Um, he can't." I remind her, shaking my head. "Elena, come on. You're the one who locked him in that basement to begin with! You know why you did it; you don't need me to remind you."

"Let me get into his cell." Elena suggests and my eyes go wide. "Let me try and talk to him."

"No. Absolutely not." I tell her. "You can talk to him as much as you'd like, so long as he's locked up."

"If you think I don't realize it's dangerous, I do."

"No, I don't think you do." I say, raising my voice; at this point, I'm worried for her sanity. "You being in a committed relationship with a vampire is confirmation enough. I'm sorry, but it is." I say once I see the look on her face. I did not choose my words carefully. "It's dangerous on a good day. With him refusing all forms of blood? It's amplified by a hundred."

"Zoe, I honestly don't think he'd try to hurt me." She tries to reason with me.

"And I really think you're giving him too much credit."

"And you are not giving our love credit enough." She snaps, fighting back.

"Love's not gonna guaranty your safety." I shake my head. "I might not understand the depths of your epic love story, but I am a vampire. And I can promise you that your love does not guaranty your safety."

Is she even serious? Love? Love is supposed to keep her safe? His love for her is supposed to make him ignore how good her blood smells, how good it would feel to sink his teeth into her neck and make up for lost times? Yeah, love's not gonna help. The sooner she realizes it, the better.

"Zoe, just let me try." She asks, sounding desperate.

I could talk for hours, pull out graphs, draw pictures and try to reason with her and none of that would work. Talking to a brick wall would give more results. She simply will not listen.

"Please, Zoe." She begs me. "I'm running out of options here, I don't know what to do anymore. Let me just talk to him. If something bad happens, you'll be there, ready to react."

"And now I think you're putting too much faith into me." I sigh, shaking my head. "I don't want to get in a situation where I have to hurt him, Elena. He's Damon's brother. The last thing I want to do is hurt him and if he goes after you, that's exactly what I'll have to do." I say.

Damon would stake me. First, he'd stake me because I allowed Elena to go through with the plan to begin with. After that, he'd find a way to bring me back to life, only to stake me again, out of revenge for killing his brother. If I hurt Stefan, Damon would never forgive me.

"He will not hurt me, Zoe. I know him. Just let me do this." She begs.

"Alright then." I sigh, finally giving up. "If you do manage to survive this, I will use you as a human shield when Damon goes after me, I promise you that." I warn her. Her smile told me she didn't take my warning seriously. She should, though. I would put her in front of me in the blink of an eye.

This time around, I go with her to the basement. I sit on the stairs as I watch her go into his cell, ready to run on the first signs of danger. And this time around, I had no choice but to listen.

I feel for the two of them, I really do. Elena's human, torn between what is right and epic love. Stefan is a tortured soul, fighting the essence of his very nature, only to be with her. I feel for them and I wish him all the best, but having to endure this was horrible. Most uncomfortable conversation I ever had to listen to, by far. Half the time, I was grimacing and the other half, I was looking for a bucket to puke in.

I knew it wouldn't work, even before Elena walked out of the cell, giving me a sad look and a head shake. I knew it wouldn't work even before I heard Stefan telling her to go away. Hell, I knew it wouldn't work even before she suggested it!

But she had to do it. I had to let her do it. Just as I have to pick up the pieces now.

"Here." I say, offering her a bottle of beer. "You look like you need one."

"I really thought it would work." She mumbles before chugging on her beer.

"I know you did. The last thing I want to do is to freak you out, but I warned you that it will take time." I remind her; at this point, I sound like a broken record. "One doesn't get out of this easily, Elena. It may take weeks, months, years even! Damon told me that it took him a while to recover before. 5, 10 years? To a vampire, that's nothing. It'll look like a month or two for him. For you? It could be a lifetime."

"Damon warned me about it, but the situation was much worse before, wasn't it?" Elena asks.

"Don't ask me, I wasn't Stefan's guidance counselor back then." I shake my head.

"See, this is why we need Lexi!" Elena snaps before taking another sip. "Damon killing her was the stupidest thing he could have done." She mumbles and I do a double take. Lexi as in THE Lexi?

"He did what?" I ask, earning a surprised look from Elena.

"He killed her, weeks ago." She tells me; another double take. "He didn't tell you that?"

"No, he failed to mention it." I sigh; it was me chugging the beer now, not her.

I never met Lexi in person. I did hear plenty about her; some of it from Damon, some of it from other vampires I met through the years. While I don't exactly know her life story, I do know she was Stefan's best friend. Damon killing her was a stupid, stupid move. And I was really hoping to meet her one day.

I'll have to explain to Damon just what "need to know information" actually means.

I'm boiling with anger; 10% because he didn't inform me and about 90% for doing it in the first place.

She was Stefan best friend. You don't do that to people and you certainly don't do that to your own brother. To hell with their revenge! This is a dick move. I wonder how well Damon would handle Stefan killing me. Maybe that would put things into perspective for him. Or maybe he wouldn't care at all?

"We will find a way." I tell Elena, hoping to finally calm her down. "We'll help him. It doesn't matter how long it takes." I finish my sentence, just in time to hear a door slam.

By the time I realized what has happened, it was too late for me to stop him.

I was talking, I wasn't paying attention.

And Elena didn't lock the door behind her.

I run in the same direction he ran in; I can trace him. For a vampire that was not drinking blood for a while, he sure as hell was fast. He made a B line for the woods, right out the back door.

"He went that way." I say as I hear Elena running into the kitchen. "I'm gonna go and try to find him."

"I know where he went." Elena speaks up.

"Where?" I ask, finally turning around to look at her. Oh, shit. "No, Elena. No!" I yell.

"I need to go alone and you know it." She yells back at me.

"No, Elena! You could die!"

"He won't hurt me and you know it!" She snaps at me. It wasn't the worry speaking out of her now; it was anger. She was actually angry with me now. "I'm the only one that can help him. Not Damon, not you. Me." She tells me. I can see it on her face. I won't be able to stop her, no matter what I do.

I don't say anything and she takes advantage of that one moment of silence and runs out; in a matter of seconds I couldn't even see her anymore.

I could catch her in a matter of seconds. I could catch her and lock her up in the same cell Stefan escaped. Then I could go back to finding Stefan. And I'd probably find him too.

I do nothing. I let her do it her own way, fully aware that she might not come back, fully aware that Damon will kill me if something happens to her.

I simply let her do it.

* * *

The old, wooden floor was in danger; I must have walked a straight line a thousand times, pacing back and forth as I waited for something, anything!

I glance at the clock; it's been 45 minutes since Elena ran out after Stefan. God knows where they are and if they are even coming back. And Damon could show up any second now. And he will kill me.

Wherever it was that Stefan went and Elena followed, they should have been back by now.

Finally, the door opens and I run.

Elena's still standing, so I assume she's not seriously injured. Stefan, on the other hand, looks a bit worse for wear; Elena's the one holding him up, helping him walk. I run to them and I grab a hold of him.

"It's okay buddy, I got you." I say, taking over from Elena. The three of us walk over to the living room and Elena and I help him get on the couch; he's not injured, he's just weak. Wasting no time, I run down to the basement and grab a bottle of animal blood. I hold the bottle up for Stefan to drink.

"Whoa, easy there. It's not a race." I warn him when he starts chugging on it. Elena's still very much human; he needs to keep it together. As hungry as he was, he listens to me. He slows down.

"He has it under control." Elena speaks up and when I turn to look at her, I see that she's saying this without a trace of doubt in her mind. I, on the other hand, have my doubts.

"Are you sure?" I ask, worried that her opinion is clouded by her love for him.

"I'm good." Stefan speaks up. I eye him up. He doesn't look as if he's about to lose control, but how can I know? If it was Damon, I'd know. Stefan is still very much a stranger. "I have it under control." He reassures me. Well, if I gave Elena a shot to prove herself… why not?

"Are you done with the basement?" I ask him.

"I'm done with the basement." He promises.

If he didn't have it under control, he wouldn't be so close to her. Elena is the most important thing for him. He wouldn't put her at risk.

"In that case, I'd suggest both of you get some rest." I say, stepping away from them. "It was quite a night; you need it."

I help Elena get him up but when he do, I realize he can stand on his own; blood did it's trick.

"Thank you." Elena tells me. It was obvious she was grateful. And honestly, she should be. If Damon was here, she never would have left the house in the first place.

"Don't mention it." I smile at her, simply glad it all needed well. I watch as the two of them climb up the stairs, Elena still supporting Stefan as they walked; all is well that ends well, right?

Now I only have to explain this to Damon.


	6. One Big Coincidence

**I'm back! :)  
Here's another one for you guys, I hope you like it. **

**Let me know what you think and please do leave a review, they mean so much to me! :)**

* * *

A knock on the door makes me look away from my laptop; it is Stefan, peaking into the room.

"Hey." I smile at him, putting the laptop down. "How are you?" I ask him.

I'm not being precautions. I'm just worried about him.

"Elena is still very much alive, if that's what you're asking." He says, making me roll my eyes.

"I didn't mean it like that. I was talking about you. Do you feel any better?"

"I've been better, I'm not gonna lie." He sighs. Although he looks better than he did last night, his eyes still look tired. And I am yet to see him crack a smile. "Look, I wanted to thank you. For everything you did while I was locked up." He tells me.

"You don't have to thank me. I've just… talked to you." I smile, shaking my head. The whole thing took less than an hour of my time; I'm hardly the one that deserves the credit for this.

"You did a lot more than that." He tells me, shaking his head. "Elena told me everything. You helped her deal with this, you are helping Damon… So thank you."

"Stefan, that's all normal. Damon's my best friend. You do things like that for your best friend." I sigh.

"Not everyone would have done it." He shakes his head. Now I see the family resemblance. They might not have the same eyes, or the same jawlines, but both of them are as stubborn as mules. I watch him as his expression changes; he's frowning now. Frowning doesn't suit him. "Zoe, are you sure? About not remembering me?" He asks me. And now I know what's bugging him.

"Stefan, I told you; I wasn't alive in the 1930's." I shake my head. "Damon might blame it all on your memory blanks or whatever but I believe you. I just think I seem more similar to her than I actually am. Not even my parents were alive back then." I tell him with a compassionate smile.

"Maybe she was your ancestor? Like Katherine is Elena's?" Stefan suggests.

"Maybe." I shrug. "I'm pretty sure I never heard of a Cleo in my family. I don't know, Stefan. It's freaky to even consider the possibility of both Elena and I looking exactly like someone else. It's too much. I would like to meet her, though." I add. Seeing this chick might just settle this once and for all.

"I'm sorry." Stefan shakes his head. "I haven't seen her since then and last I heard from Lexi, the two lost touch around the same time. Lexi always thought Cleo ended up getting herself killed."

"I suppose the mystery dies, then." I sigh. "Oh well, I'm fine with not knowing. I love denial; it's such a nice place to live in." I say and finally, the heavens listened to my wish and Stefan cracked a smile. It's a miracle! "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a meeting with your dear brother and teacher slash vampire hunter." I announce as I get out of Damon's bed. "If I were you, I'd avoid it. The two are so dull, I almost wish I was the one locked up in a basement." I mumble as I walk past him. Another miracle; he actually laughs this time. I grin proudly as I make my way down stairs, to meet up with Damon and Alaric in the living room, for a super boring, probably super long vampire briefing.

"Get dressed." Alaric jumps up before I even have a chance to say a word. I'm left hanging, with my mouth open like a goldfish. "House arrest is over. I'm taking you out for lunch." He grins.

"What?" I ask, looking in turns to both him and Damon. What the hell am I missing here?

"If we're going to parade you in front of John Gilbert, you might as well leave the house." Damon tells me, giving me one of his know-it-all smiles. "Why don't you look excited?" He raises his eyebrows.

"No, I am." I shake my head. "But this is still a small town in Virginia. I mean, come on."

"Seriously?" He asks me in disbelief.

"Alright, alright! I'll be ready in a minute!" I snap as I agree, knowing I won't get a second chance.

* * *

"How can a vampire eat so much food?" Alaric asks me, wide eyed.

"It helps with the cravings." I mumble with a mouth full of food. Manners, Zoe. Manners.

I hate to admit it, but Mystic Falls didn't have much to offer. Like I said; small town in Virginia. It is very pretty and interesting, but it's still just a small town. New Haven was much bigger and I'm not even going to compare it to New York.

Alaric and I ended up at a place called "Mystic Grill", an original name for sure. It seemed nice enough. It's packed, both with teens and adults. And their double cheeseburger is to die for.

"Is it really that difficult to handle?" Alaric asks me in suspicion.

"Let's just say that if I were you, I'd be glad this is a cheeseburger and not your jugular." I say before biting down on the burger like a savage.

"Point taken." Alaric mumbles, looking shocked with my lack of elegance while dealing with my food. "I know Stefan has his… specific struggles. But when I look at Damon, I see a vampire. I don't really see a vampire when I look at you."

"Well, if I had a rendezvous with your vampire ex wifey, I'm sure you'd see me for what I am."

"Again, point taken." Alaric sighs, and after an awkward silence, both of us start laughing. This right here has to be the cure for keeping our sanity; being able to laugh at ourselves.

"Ric?" A voice interrupts our laughter and I look at a woman approaching our table; smiling at Ric before looking over at me in confusion. "Hi." She mumbles, looking slightly awkward.

A pretty woman in her late 20's, early 30's that obviously likes Ric. I do the math in my head quickly.

"Hi!" Ric smiles at her. "Jenna, this is Zoe. Zoe, this is Jenna." He awkwardly introduces us. Bingo.

"Jenna as in Elena's Aunt Jenna?" I ask with a smile, earning a confused look from the woman.

"Yeah." She nods. "How do you know Elena?" She asks.

"Oh, I'm staying with the Salvatore brothers." I explain, acting as if I forgot to mention it. "I'm Damon's friend. Elena's there often, so I got to know her well. It's nice to meet you." I say, offering her a hand.

"Nice to meet you to." She smiles as we shake hands. "And how do the two of you know each other?"

"Again, Damon." Ric smiles at her. "Zoe here is a history student and Damon introduced us. I'm helping her with her project, while she's working with Elena on her project." He explains.

"Why don't you join us?" I offer, having a slight suspicion that I don't want this woman thinking that I am after a man she likes. Especially because I'm not; Ric's too human for my taste.

"Okay, why not?" She laughs as she sits down next to me.

* * *

I'm not sure what I was expecting from this day, but I sure as hell wasn't expecting to laugh as much as I did. Two hours, two double cheeseburgers and four beers later, I am still having fun."

"Imagine the look on my face when I saw him like that; in his underwear, in the middle of the street." I say as both Ric and Jenna are crying of laughter. "It was like the episode of "The Office"; I turned around to give a pointed look to a camera while Damon just stood there." I laugh.

"Oh, I can totally see that." Jenna sighs as she wipes away her tears. "I still don't like the guy." She adds.

"Not many people do." I agree, grimacing. "He's a real good guy once you get to know him. If you bother to stick around long enough. And he can really be a dick sometimes." I agree. I can love him all the way to the moon and back, but that doesn't make Damon an angel.

"He's a dick all the time." Alaric corrects me.

"Okay, most of the time." I bargain as the three of us laugh; I feel my phone vibrating and when I take it out of my pocket, I see Elena's name flash up on my screen. "Sorry guys, I have to take this." I say as I stand up and walk away far enough so that they can't hear my conversation.

"What's going on?" I ask as I answer, automatically assuming the worst.

"Um, I think I have a problem with Stefan." Elena blurts out.

"You think or you know?"

"I know." She admits.

"Okay, get away from him, right now!" I order her, wondering if it would be affective if she should lock herself in the basement; that way he couldn't get to her; he'd probably just go for the blood bags.

"No, no, no!" Elena rushes. "Not like that, it's not that. He's just… acting strange."

"If it's not a 911 situation, I think you should try Damon." I tell her.

"I normally would, but Stefan mentioned you." She explains. I stay silent for a moment, unsure of what to say. "He said something about doing this for you." She adds.

"Doing what, exactly?" I ask slowly.

"Going through some boxes of old stuff." She tells me and I… I just don't know what to say to that. "Look, I told you it was strange, not dangerous. But he's acting all weird and he said your name and I put two and two together and I don't know what to do." She says, breathless from talking fast.

"I'll be there in 10." I say as I hang up. With an apologetic smile, I walk back to the table. "Guys, I have to leave you, something came up." I say as I lean over to grab my bag.

"Is everything okay?" Ric asks and I nod, giving him a reassuring look; no need for him to get involved.

"Zoe, it was so nice to meet you." Jenna smiles at me. "I hope I'll see you soon again."

"I'm sure you will, Jenna." I smile at her. "It was very nice to meet you too."

* * *

Elena and I communicate silently as soon as I walk into the house; she meets me in the hallway and points upstairs. I waste no time and I follow the only noise I could hear. I make my way to the same room in which I found Katherine's photograph, the very first day I got here.

Stefan was sitting on the floor, surrounded with four very large boxes. He had his back turned to me, completely focused on whatever it is that he is doing.

"Watcha doing there, Grumpy Pants?" I ask, leaning on the doorframe. I smile when he jumps up in surprise. It's not often that you can make a vampire go through a jump scare; vampire hearing and all.

"Um, I'm looking for something." He tells me, going right back to the thing that was in his hands.

"Looking for what?" I ask.

"I'll know it when I see it." He shakes my question off, not giving me a second more of his attention. I wasn't going to get more than that. So, I walk inside his room and I take a seat on the floor next to him. He gives me a surprised look.

"I have nothing better to do; I might as well help." I offer a small smile. "Now, will I know it if I see it?"

"You will." He agrees. I want to ask more questions but it feels like a smart move to let him have it his way. "I will go through my old diaries and you can go over the pictures. Those two boxes." He said, pointing at the largest of the four boxes.

I dig a hole in my mind, pushing all of the questions down and then bury at all, even tapping on the dirt with a shovel, just to make it secure. It's weird, but why not? Why not commiserate with him?

It was quite enjoyable, actually. Looking at all the photographs Stefan has collected over the years was like watching a presentation, or jumping in a time machine.

As fun as it was, my selective OCD was driving me up the wall; all of the photos were mixed up; in one of them, I could see Stefan with a Kurt Cobain hairstyle that would definitely mean it was taken in the 90's, while on the next one, he was back in the 19th century, a low quality, black and white photo.

"Is this Lexi?" I ask, turning over a picture of him and a beautiful blonde, dated 2004.

"Yes." Stefan nods his head, smiling at the photo.

"She was very pretty," I comment. "Good work." I add, making him laugh.

"No, Lexi and I were never like that," He shakes his head. "We were more like you and Damon."

"Oh!" I start laughing. "Just because I'm not Damon's girlfriend doesn't mean I didn't move away from the main road every once and a while."

"You and Damon were together?" He asks me in disbelief.

"I wouldn't say "together"," I correct him. "I just made a mistake once or twice. Not in the last 29 years."

"There's still time." Stefan shrugs and I start laughing and frantically shaking my head.

"Hello no. I'm not walking down that road. Damon is a whole other level of crazy. And I'm pretty messed up myself." I tell him. It's a long story to tell and even if I was to tell it, he still wouldn't understand it.

"That's not the impression I got," he shakes his head. "Out of the three of us, you seem to be the most normal one, the one that's actually in control."

"I'll ask you if you think the same once you really get to know me." I mumble.

Unlike Damon, Stefan could actually take a hint; he could tell I did not want to discuss myself, my life style or my habits. We both go back to our respective tasks and for a while, we are silent.

"I've been wondering for days," Stefan suddenly speaks up. "How come you're friends with him?"

"Stefan, I'm not gonna lie. There were days when I wondered the same," I admit with a sigh. "But Damon strutted into my life with that stupid grin of his, at a time when I needed him the most, without even knowing it. He saved my life. After that, there's very little he could do to change the way I see him. The night we met, he was the most selfless person. And you can't just erase that. No matter how much you'd like to forget it, it will stay with you, it will follow you. And I think you know that too."

"What do you mean?" he asks me, a frown taking over his face yet again.

"He's here, isn't he?" I ask, smiling at the younger Salvatore. "After years of revenge and fights and what not, he's still here and so are you. For the first time in a long time, you're actually working together. The connection you have might be severely damaged, but it's still there. Or am I wrong?" I ask.

He eyes me for a very long moment; we were seconds away from it becoming uncomfortable.

"He's lucky to have you, I'll give him that."

"And I remind him of that every single day." I say, giving him the most angelic smile ever.

"Thank you," he nods his head. "I mean it. For everything you did." He explains and I just shrug.

"That's what you do for the people you care for," I shrug. "I did it for Damon. And now, I guess I care for you and Elena too."

"It goes both ways," he reassures me, offering me a small smile. "I won't forget what you did for us."

Another thing they have in common; both Damon and Stefan have a way with words. Feeling a bit uncomfortable, I just smile at him before going back to the photos. And then I remember Damon.

"Ah, he's going to be so pissed," I grin, making Stefan laugh. "I brought you here because I needed your help, not because I wanted you to be in a tag team with my brother," I say, doing my best Damon impression; judging by the way Stefan laughed at it, it was spot on. "You are my friend, you have to hate him, it's a given!" I imitate him again, only this time; there was no response from Stefan.

"Oh come on, that was perfect and you know it," I laugh. Again, nothing. When I look up at him, I can see him staring at a piece of paper in his hand. I could tell it was an old photograph. "You found what you were looking for?" I ask as I lean over, hoping to get a better look at it.

"I told you," Stefan says, his voice no more than a whisper. When he looks my way, his eyes are wide and I can tell he is in shock. "I told you she looked exactly like you." He mumbles, turning the photo in his hands around, so that I could see it.

It was an old photograph. By the looks of it, it was taken in an old, classic, New York bar. The first person I notice is Stefan; as handsome as ever, with a bigger smile than the ones I've seen so far. His hair was a bit longer, parted sideways and he was dressed like a proper gent; suit and bow tie. It was strange, seeing him like that, but it was still him.

Then I noticed Lexi; short, blond hairdo, appropriate for the 20's or 30's. The photo was in black and white, so I could only guess that her dress was probably a silver sequined one. She was smiling as brightly as Stefan was, with a hand over his shoulder.

And then I noticed the girl next to her. It was me.

A blonde, short haired me.

* * *

I watched patiently as Damon looked at the photo in his hands, before looking back at me. And back at the photo, before looking back at me. He has been doing it for the past 30 seconds.

"What I said about you staking me if this ends up being true? Can we forget about it?" He suggests.

"I don't think now's the time for jokes, Damon." Stefan warns him before I get a chance to speak up.

"No. Nope. I refuse to believe it." Damon shakes his head. I sigh, falling deeper into the couch, feeling Elena's comforting hand on my shoulder.

I'm not looking at the photo and yet, I could still see it, as clear as day. It was me. The girl in the photo is me. We don't just look alike; we look the same. For a moment, I was absolutely positive that was me and that for some strange reason, I have memory blanks. But I don't. I was born in 1966. I was never blonde. The girl in the photo… it's not me. We only look exactly the same. Down to the birthmark on our left arm, just above the elbow.

I saw Elena and I saw a photo of Katherine. It's the same kind of resemblance, only this was worst; this one was about me and not someone else.

"There has to be a logical explanation for this." Damon says, acting all reasonable.

"Really? Well, if you have one, please, I'm all ears?" I ask, urging him with my hand.

"You're related," he offers. "That is certain. You're related and you look alike. It does happen."

"Damon, this isn't family resemblance," Elena speaks up in my defense. "This is me and Katherine level of resemblance. Throw a blonde wig on her, they'd be the same."

Of course she gets it. If anyone in this place would understand this situation, it was gonna be Elena.

"Imagine if we were doubles of each other," I mumble. "Now that would be a ride!"

"You're being passive aggressive," Damon shakes his head at me, looking annoyed. "You're Zoe. That's what Zoe does when she is pissed. As soon as you stop being pissed, you'll be back to your normal self, and you will see that this is one big coincidence." He theatrically announces.

For someone that's trying to sell this as a big coincidence, he sure is flustered.

"I'm not angry at all, Damon. But keep it up and I might be," I warn him. "I've been a vampire long enough to know that I should not believe in coincidences. How is it possible that both Elena and I have had doubles of ourselves? And we're both on the same couch! I'm not talking same time frame, same time of living, same continent, not even the same town. I'm talking the same room, same couch. If you want to be in denial, go ahead," I wave my hand at him. "I get it and I don't blame you. Denial is better than this. Unfortunately for me, I can't afford to be in denial about this."

"We will figure it out," Elena speaks up in a reassuring voice. "We'll go over your family tree, we'll try to find something about Cleo too. I would suggest we call Lexi, but…"

"I took care of that," Damon cuts her off, almost looking proud of himself. "Oops."

And that was the drop that filled the glass for me. It's one thing to be in denial. It's something else to make fun of a very dire situation. Not to mention him making jokes about him killing Lexi.

I love Damon with all my heart, but he took it too far. I got up and walked towards him.

"I have spent my entire vampire life jumping to your aid. Never asking questions, never using it against you. You did what you did and you can hardly change it; what's done is done. But don't you dare and make jokes about it." I warn him. Even to myself, I sounded threatening.

"How would you feel if Stefan killed me? Would it hurt or would you simply not give a shit?" I ask. "Not only did you take away his best friend; you also took away the chance of me ever knowing who Cleo was and how she was related to me. The very least you can do is to stop being so smug about it, and try to act like the friend you claim to be."

"What is wrong with you?" He asks, staring at me in disbelief. "Why are you acting like this?"

"Because you deserve it."

The Damon in front of me is not the Damon I know and love. I don't know what's causing the change. Is it Stefan? Or Elena? Maybe it's just being in Mystic Falls? I don't know what it is and I probably never will, but this guy in front of me? That's not my best friend.

"I'm out of here," He announces. "The three of you can go back to your "I hate Damon group". If you need me, you'll find me." He says and he marches away from us.

"Stop acting like you're 12 and we might just do that." Stefan yells back at him. Seconds later, Damon slams the door as he leaves.

All three of us relax, drop our guards down. I walk back to the sofa and I fall on it, running my hands through my hair, which is something I always do whenever I'm nervous.

"Who is that person?" I ask, shaking my head. "Is that how he acts now?"

"That's who he always was, Zoe. He's only nice when things are going his way." Stefan tells me with a look of understanding and compassion. If anyone knows what it's like to wonder about Damon, it's him.

"We never fought before," I shake my head, staring directly in front of me. "Not like this. I was calm but on the inside, I just… I wanted to go all vampire and rip his head off." I admit.

"Damon will be here tomorrow," Stefan tells me in a calm tone. "You will deal with this. Right now, it's more important to find something on Cleo," He tells me and I nod; Cleo should be a priority. "I will go over my old diaries; maybe there's something I missed. Elena can try to check online. And you can go over your family try, look for a Cleo." He tells me. Well… crap.

"Stefan, all of that info is in New Haven." I tell him with a sigh. "I only died 29 years ago. If I go back there, someone might recognize me. It's not a risk I'd be willing to take." I explain.

I can't step foot in New Haven, and neither can Theo, who would be the first person I'd call about this. Then again, if I do risk and call him, he will just jump in a car and get over here. And I can't have that.

"Do you have anyone else you could ask to do that?" Elena asks me.

Theo. Theo's my person. I'm sure Simon would be more than willing to help, but I'd rather not have him know about this. But… Jess. Jess could help. She could even go to New Haven. The only problem is, I'm not sure if she'll keep it from Theo. She's my best friend as much as she is his girlfriend.

"I can't ask my brother," I shake my head. "I don't want him involved in all of this. But maybe I could ask Jess, his girlfriend. Who just so happens to be my friend and a highly skilled witch." I explain.

"So, do you think it might be possible to go over one step, to avoid your brother?" Stefan asks me.

"She's my best friend," I shrug. "We had each other's backs for decades now. But my brother is the love of her life. I'm not sure if I can take that head on. I'm not sure if she'll be willing to keep this a secret, to go behind his back." I mumble.

"She would," Elena speaks up; both Stefan and I look at her in surprise. "If there's anyone you'd make an exception for, it's family. And by the sound of it, you're more family than you are friends."

"We are," I confirm. "I'll call her first thing in a morning. I can't keep it up. It's too much for one night."

* * *

I called Jess at 10 AM, knowing she would be up and that Theo would probably still be asleep. I was right; Jess was in the office, going through some of her books, while Theo was peacefully snoring.

I don't beat around the bush. With Jess, there's no point in doing that. So I just tell her everything. Everything, starting from Elena and Katherine, right down to the photo we found yesterday. She doesn't interrupt, and for a solid minute after I finished talking, she was completely silent; I could only hear her breath. And with each passing second, my nerves only grew.

"Jess, will you please just say something, you're freaking me out!" I snap, nerves getting the best of me.

"Okay," Jess sighs, and for a moment, I have to wait for her again. "Why the hell did you wait so long to tell me about this?" She asks. Oh. She's back. And she's pissed. A pissed Jess is not a pleasant sight.

"Stefan only found the picture last night!" I defend myself. "We weren't sure. Not until last night."

"Oh. Well, it's still too long. And once this is all over, I will kick your ass for the whole "All is fine in Mystic Falls" song you've been singing, but right now, we have bigger fish to fry."

"Bigger than rich, preppy family starting a war against vampires?" I ask, genuinely doubting that.

"Much worse. Much worse." Jess sighs.

"You're freaking me out again." I mumble.

"Okay, get ready for some serious witchy bull crap," She warns me, before taking a deep breath. "What you Elena both have is called a doppelgänger. An exact double of a person, an exact copy. Given the years you've mentioned, Elena is Katherine's doppelgänger and you are Cleo's." She tells me. "If you dig deep in the history books, you'll find different explanations, different names. One thing is always the same: doppelgängers are bad news." She tells me.

"How bad?"

"I know more about the witchy side of it. Now, in our books, in our culture, doppelgänger is a sign of evil. It's a bringer of evil. Literally an evil twin. We all know that story, we've all seen that soap opera, but this is more than that. An evil counterpart. To make it all worse, doppelgängers usually find the most joy in torturing their double. In some cases, that's the only thing they want to do; everything else is completely irrelevant. Of course, the number one trick is to pretend to be the other one. Now, that's all very worrying, but last we know of your double is that she was alive in 1930's. If she was alive, and if she knows about you, she would have shown up." Jess explains. With each word, my confusion grows.

"Jess, she was a vampire back then. Her dying of old age in the meantime is not a possibility."

"I get that, but I know my reasoning. I am absolutely sure that she's dead. Believe me when I say it, in your 50 years, she would have shown her face. That is not the part that I am worried about, at all. I am worried about the fact that there's another situation like yours, very close to you, and in that case, we know that the other double's alive. Elena's in a bigger danger than you are. And that brings me to the real issue, and that is that this is not common. This does not happen every now and then. It happens next to never. It's made out of some serious supernatural mojo. A supernatural mojo that almost always involves the original doppelgänger. It could be Cleo, just as easily as it could be someone who was born 2000 years ago. We can go back in time to the point that magic reaches. It could be anyone. And this is some heavy mojo I'm talking about. In the ranks of meddling with your own mortality, or even with bringing someone from the dead. Given the fact that you are a vampire, and that Cleo was one as well, I have no doubt that it's somehow connected to vampires. And Elena, another doppelgänger, happens to be connected to vampires, while her double is a vampire herself." She explains.

"Okay, I have no idea what you're saying; all I know is that I'm freaking out even more than I was freaking out 10 minutes ago." I admit.

"There has to be a back story, Zo. Two doppelgängers in Mystic Falls? A town in which Katherine lived? A town in which Stefan, a vampire who is dating Elena and who knew your double, was born and raised, before falling madly in love with Elena's double? This is all mixed up. I can tell you for sure, it has to be related to magic, it has to be very dark and very powerful. I have no idea how we can pin point it, and it involved the both of you, and I say this without a doubt in my mind. Your doubles, they had to be at the same place, at the same time, mixed in one heavy spell, and like I told you, we have no idea when or how. Katherine and Cleo might just be ones in the line, just like you and Elena are." Jess tells me.

"What do you mean "ones in the line"? Are there more?" I ask, not even bothering to hide my fear.

"Without a doubt," Jess sighs." I just don't know how many of them. And I highly doubt that we'll ever find out. Like I told you, it can be old as magic itself, and you are aware of how old magic is. It happened before, with Cleo and Katherine. Chances are, it happened at least once before. Well, twice; it had to start with someone. My guess, which is a very educated guess is that it was with the original Zoe and original Elena. It happened before and it will happen again."

"For how long?"

"Another educated guess is forever," Jess tells me." It can't be stopped. It can't be forced. The witch who started all of this, she had no plan of making doppelgängers. You are nature, trying to find a balance within itself. It's nature's way of trying to fix things, because someone really meddled into it."

"How can you be so sure that it's connected? I mean, it could be a coincidence." I ask and she laughs.

"Zo, did you not listen to a single word of what I have told you? It does not happen. It was considered to be a myth. If you asked me about this yesterday, not saying a word about Cleo, Elena or Katherine, I would say it's a bunch of witchy mumbo jumbo, and I do not use that phrase lightly. We believe in what we do not see when it makes sense. There is no reported case of doppelgängers, not that I know of. Not until now. I do not believe in coincidences and I know that you don't believe in them either. If you did, you would only tell me of Cleo; you would not think it was relevant to say a word about Elena and Katherine. You feel it, and my guess is that Elena feels it too. The fact that it happened to the both of you, with so many common links, starting with vampires, the Salvatores and Mystic Falls… This is not a coincidence and it is not good. Both of you need to dig as deep as you can, to see if there is a common link. I told you, I doubt it would be very successful. You may find something strange, that you were related to the two of them, or maybe even related to one another, once upon a time. It's very possible that the two of you are related. My guess is that your original doubles were both at the same place at the same time, used for or wanted for the exact same thing. I'm telling you, if you are lucky, you can find a connection, but it's basically impossible to find the original one." She tells me.

With each passing second, I could feel the panic rising in me. This was not good at all.

"Jess, are Elena and I in danger?" I ask her.

"I am not sure," Jess admits." While they are officially supernatural creatures, doppelgängers are born as humans, and I can't tell you what happens when they mess with the natural order. You're not human and neither was Cleo. I am not sure how being a vampire messes up the balance. I would need to have some info on the original double, if you want me to tell you more about it. If I'm being realistic, I think that Elena is in a much bigger danger than you are. Your double may very well be dead, and at the end of the day, you are a vampire. Elena is human and hangs around the same men her double turned. I don't see an imminent danger hanging over you, but you shouldn't take this lightly." She explains.

"So what do I do now?" I ask. I need advice. And not from a witch, but from a friend.

"We say nothing to Theo," Jess sighs. "I will help you. I will go to New Haven and see what I can find. You help Elena with her side. And don't sugarcoat this. If she can run with vampires, she can handle this."

Can she? I'm not even sure I'm handling it. This is all too much for me to process.

"How do I always end up in such a mess?" I wonder out loud.

"If you don't find trouble, it finds you," Jess laughs. "Try not to think about this too much. You'll only lose it. Focus on the danger that you are in right now. Help them fix it, and then I'll help you with fixing this. One thing at a time, Zo."

"Jess, I don't know how I will thank you for this. You're doing a lot for me; I owe you a big one."

"You owe me nothing," Jess sighs. "A thank you will be enough once it's all over. For now, just go and do your thing. And Theo knows nothing." She adds.

"Theo knows nothing," I agree." I'll call you later; I have to go break this to Elena."


	7. If That's What You're Doing, Stop Trying

**I'm back guys!**

 **I hope you like this one. Let me know what you think, it will mean a lot to me! I'm struggling to write this, I'm too focused on other stories and one simple solution for me to write at full speed would be if I know that someone's actually looking forward to an update! So, let me know what you think! :)**

 **Pretty please? :)**

* * *

I'm not sure which was worst: Hearing all of that from Jess or breaking it down to Elena.

I listened to Jess's advice and I didn't sugarcoat it for her. Of course, that meant I would have to wait for her to snap out of the shock I just put her through. So, I waited, exchanging worried looks with Stefan.

"This is a lot to process." Elena mumbles as she falls deeper into the sofa.

"I know. I feel the same way. But it's the truth. I trust Jess; I would put my life in her hands without a blink of an eye. If she says that this is the way things are, this is the way things are." I tell her.

"If I understood you correctly, the two of you are in no danger, as of right now?" Stefan asks.

"Yes. But being what we are, we have some bad mojo around us. Jess is adamant that we have to dig into our past, to try and find a common connection, but she also says that we have next to no chance of ever finding out how or why it all started. The best we can do is to track it back as far as we can. And keep an eye out for Cleo, Katherine, or any other possible double. For Katherine, we know that she was alive in 1864. And we know that we know nothing of her. We know and we hope that she's either dead, or that she has no plan whatsoever, to ever step foot in Mystic Falls. As for Cleo, well, your story is the only thing we actually know. Jess is certain that she is dead."

"I think she's right." Stefan sighs. "I told you what Lexi told me. She hasn't seen her after the night that picture was taken. I doubt Lexi would have known anything, but still, she might have been able to help."

"In a way, I'm glad I won't have to deal with Cleo showing up, but she could have been the only one with any answers. Jess will go to New Haven, she will try to trace my lineage as far back as she can. But I can't shake away the feeling that Lexi and Cleo were the only ones with any answers."

"We have to dig deep about you too." I turn to Elena." My story may be a mystery, but we already know that you have to be connected with Katherine. And we know she is connected to Isobel, your vampire mom, Alaric's ex, which makes this a soap opera I was not prepared for." I sigh.

"And Isobel would not be willing to help." Elena interrupts me. "I tried calling her. She knows I tried to find her, and she made a point of letting me know that she is not interested in me at all."

"We might not even need Isobel for this." Stefan tells us. "She could help us, but I doubt she'll run to the chance. We have Alaric on our side. He was her husband. He knows the names of her parents, her birthplace, which should be enough for us to start. As long as we cover our tracks, we should be good."

"What if it's connected to the other side?" I ask, earning confused looks from the both of them. "Elena doesn't know who her biological father was. Sure, just based on our luck, Isobel would be the logical link to Katherine, but what if it's the other way around?" I suggest.

"She's right." Elena tells her boyfriend. "We've thought that the two of them are connected, because both of them turned. It's a stretch, but it might be true. There's just the problem of me not knowing who my father is." She adds.

"So the only way you can know about your father is if Isobel tells you, and she does not want to be found." Stefan says. This is getting messier by the second.

"Well, this all just keeps getting better and better." I mumble.

"We're going to be late for school." Elena sighs, getting up and Stefan following her lead. "We'll deal with this later." She says and I nod, knowing all too well that this will wait for us.

I end up sitting on the floor of Damon's room, a cup of coffee in my hand, wondering about everything.

Where was Damon? Is Cleo really dead? Why the hell am I connected to it? How unfair it was for Elena to not know anything about her birth parents? It's all a mess. A mess in which I either feel sorry for myself or I feel sorry for someone else. And it just keeps running in circles.

I wasn't even halfway through my first cup when my phone rang and Stefan's name showed up.

"What happened?" I ask, trying hard to ignore the bad feeling I had; they only left like 20 minutes ago.

"I need you to call Damon," Stefan sighs. "He's not answering, and we need the both of you in school ASAP. Isobel's in town." He tells me.

Well, we did speak of the devil, didn't we?

* * *

I'm walking up and down an empty school corridor, the sound of my heels echoing, as I wait for Damon to pick up his phone; third call, so far. He's ignoring me on purpose. I try again, for the fourth time.

"Calling to say you're sorry?" He answers on the first ring; he must have had the phone in his hand, just laughing while ignoring the first three tries. "I'm waiting." He says cheerfully and I bite my tongue.

"Damon, I did not call you to play games. We have a situation."

"Well, I'm sure you and the Scooby Gang can take care of it yourself." He tells me, still very cheerful.

"Damon, I mean it when I say that we have a problem here. 911 problem," I tell him, and this time, he does not laugh, nor does he offer a snarky comment. "I don't know what we're going to do. I can't explain it, you need to come here. School, Alaric's classroom. ASAP."

This is an all hands on deck situation. And even with all the hands on deck, I still don't know if we can handle it. Isobel doesn't sound like the type of woman that plays around. And we still don't know what it is that she wants. It could be anything, literally anything. All we know is that she wants to see Elena.

"What did he say?" I hear Stefan ask and I jump up in surprised; I was so lost in my own thoughts, I didn't even notice him stepping out in the hallway. I jumped back so hard, I hit one of the lockers; after looking at it, I realize my head left a small dent in it. "Sorry." Stefan mumbles, but I shake my head.

"It's okay. He didn't say much, but he'll be here. How is she taking all of this?" I ask.

"She's in shock," he says and I nod, expecting nothing less." These past couple of days have been a shock after a shock. It would be difficult to handle even without the supernatural element. How are you taking all of this?" he asks me and I can't help but smile at his worry.

"I'm not the one you should be worried about." I sigh, nodding my head in the direction of the classroom Elena was in right now with Alaric, waiting for Damon to join all of us.

"It's happening to you too," he shakes his head at me. "And yet, you're still here? Why not leave?"

"Because Elena's not the only one in this mess," I shake my head. "I may very well be related to her. Isobel may not be my mess, but there are messes Elena and I share. And if you're looking for a reason more, isn't my love for your brother reason enough?" I ask.

I may be bending over backwards to keep Elena safe. And I may be very angry with Damon right now, but that doesn't change the way I feel about him. Nor will it ever.

"I swear, if I didn't see the two of you fight, I would have thought you were sired to him."

"Me? Sired to Damon?" I ask, bursting out in laughter. "No, Stefan. This is something much different. This is… more pure. Love and friendship. You need to consider something, Stefan. I was a human. Damon didn't stop a stake before it hit my heart. He gave me my life back just as it was about to slip out of my fingers. You have no idea how lost I was. This wasn't some heroic rescue, or him being my back up. He literally gave me my life back. That cannot and will not be erased, ever. He waltzed into my life, going from a drunk, sexy customer that was flirting with me, to a life saver, best friend; partner in almost everything. He is my family, Stefan. He may be your blood, he may be your brother, but he's my family too. I have a ton of reasons why I'm not leaving. You're curious, and that's okay. I'm explaining it. I care for Elena. I care for you. I care for Alaric. Add another hundred reasons to that. And finally, Damon is my family."

I didn't like him questioning my motives, even if I knew where he was coming from with it. If I was in his place, I'd probably be doing it too. Still, it's not exactly something that's comfortable to endure; it felt as if I was being questioned, as if he was ungrateful, even though I know he isn't.

"Thank you," he utters. "I won't question your motives. And you know I am thankful for everything."

"Stefan, you're a friend. You don't have to thank me. I am no longer some random stranger who helped you. I am a friend. This falls under that definition. Help someone without wanting anything in return. I know, if I called the three of you, tomorrow night, you'd help me. So stop thanking me. Damon is family. You're his family. That makes you my family as well. So stop thanking me, and let's get back into the classroom before I say the word "family" one more time. I'm already sounding like Vin Diesel."

For one perfect moment, Stefan starts laughing and I join him. It was as perfect as it was brief. Humor can only last so long when we're in danger. It was brief, but it was absolutely perfect.

And it might be just what we needed.

* * *

I could write a whole novel explaining how it was absolutely wrong of them to leave me out of the whole Isobel drama. As a vampire that is also helping them, I had every right to be there.

Unfortunately, I was outvoted; all of them agreed it's better to keep me safe. And I had no real say in it at all. Which is why I ended up waiting back at the house, smoking once cigarette after the other.

Finally, they come back; Damon marches in with Stefan following him.

"She wants the Gilbert device! And I won't give it to her!" He tells me, grinning like a maniac.

The same thing John Gilbert, Elena's uncle wanted to get his hands on? Well, shit.

"Is she working with John Gilbert?" I ask but Damon simply ignores my question as he runs up the stairs. I turn to Stefan, hoping that he's still the reasonable Stefan he was once he was out of the basement.

"She brushed it off," he tells me. "I think she might be working with him, but I'm not sure."

"What else do we know?" I ask.

"Not much. She wants the device and she pointed out that she won't choose ways to get it. And Damon's not going to hand it to her. She knows Katherine," Stefan tells me. Of course. It had to be her. "I think it's safe to say Elena's connected to Katherine's bloodline through her mother. All in all, she was pretty rude to Elena. It wasn't the reunion she was hoping for."

"We all expected that, after what Ric told us," I sigh. "Is she okay?"

"I'm not sure," Stefan takes a deep breath. "This is too much for her to handle, I think.

"Then go. Go, be with her," I urge him. The moment he walked inside the house, I wondered why he wasn't with her to begin with. "If I could handle you while you were Mr. Grumpy Pants, I can take care of him," I joke; thank God, he does crack a smile. "Go. Your girl needs you!" I urge him again.

Stefan's out of the house in a matter of seconds, and I make my way up the stairs, knowing I have to confront Damon. We barely spoke to each other today, and when we did, we completely ignored the issue that came up last night. If we keep on ignoring it, it'll only grow more and more.

I lean on the doorframe of his room, looking at him. He was ignoring me, just lounging on his bad, looking as casual as ever. I could tell that he would be just fine with ignoring this for good.

"You came to apologize?" he asks.

I want to talk back; I want to tell him to go to hell. But I say nothing. I just stand and look at him.

"You know, it's funny how I was pushing Stefan's buttons, and you were the one that reacted."

"I wasn't jumping to his defense, if that's what you're wondering," I sigh as I walk over to him. I sit down on the edge of the bed; he still hasn't looked at me. "Your comment filled up the glass and you know it. You know damn well why I reacted the way I did."

"If you're not here to officially apologize, than why are you here?"

"Stefan's not here. He's with Elena and I'm using the time we have with him not hearing us."

"Uh, nasty. Didn't want my brother to hear the bed squeaking?" He asks, catching me off guard.

"You're an idiot, Damon." I say through laughter. It was a good one, I'll give him that.

"I've heard that one before," he nods, finally smiling at me. "So, if you're not here to apologize, and you're not here to have crazy vampire sex, why are you here? What is it that you want to talk about that my brother, and your new BFF, shouldn't know about?" he asks. Of course, he had to bring that up.

"How old are you?" I ask him, shaking my head in disbelief." Do you really need me to tell you that you are my best friend and not Stefan? Do I really have to explain that I can have more friends than just you? And that even if I do, no one could ever take your coveted place? Huh? Does that cover it?"

"It doesn't bother me as much as I thought it would," Damon says, looking thoughtful. "You're switching brothers. And that's okay. It's something girls tend to do with the two of us. He's the one you've been sharing your deepest darkest secrets with lately. Tell me, is he a better listener than I am?"

"Damon, I told him my story. No deep, dark secrets. I told him my story because Elena asked me to, because we both thought it might help him. And it did. I don't see why you should be bothered with it. As for the brother switch, if that's what you think of me, than maybe Stefan is the brother I should be friends with. Yet, here I am."

"You told him everything?" Damon asks, and for the first time since I entered his room, he was not being an ass. He looked a bit worried, or, at the very least, compassionate. He knew I don't share that easily.

"Yes," I nod. "He needed to know. He needed to be reminded that it's not always dark."

"For you it's not. For him, it is." Damon mumbles.

"If it was always dark for him, he'd still be in that basement. And this is not what I wanted to talk about."

"Then what is?"

"I think you know it."

"No, I don't think I do." Damon shakes his head.

"Elena. Ring a bell?"

"You know, you're doing exactly the same thing Katherine did," Damon tells me, changing the subject. "The only difference is that you're not actually having sex with us. At least not with me. You're MO's the same. Make us like you, make us care, then choose accordingly, chose the one you need more at the moment. It's the same as it was with her, only you are the "friendzone" version."

"I'd be insulted, if this wasn't an obvious attempt to change the subject," I roll my eyes. "Just to make it clear, I'm not playing her game. I actually care about you. Both of you. And I'm here to help you, not use you. So, back to the part where you insulted me just to change the subject. Elena."

"Maybe Stefan is the one you should be friends with. He wouldn't put you in danger. I imagine that he's better at life advice. He definitely isn't as fun as I am, but he has his moments. But you'd get to a rough patch eventually. Elena may end up being jealous of your friendship, and he would choose her. You and Elena might end up in mortal danger, and he would choose to save her. It doesn't matter how close you are, or how well you get along, or how many secrets you share. He'd still always choose Elena." he says.

"Are you trying to tell me that you wouldn't?" I ask.

The way he's saying it, Stefan's the bad guy, Elena's the bitch and I'm the poor little girl that never gets picked. And that's not the reality of our situation at all.

"You picked a wrong angle, Damon," I sigh. "Because I really do like Stefan. And Elena too. I know better than to let you play your games on me. It never worked before, it won't work now. So, let me try to direct this conversation back on its course. I will ask you a question I shouldn't be asking. I will ask you not to do something, and essentially, it is none of my business, but I will ask you, because I do not want to see you ruining an already ruined relationship. I'm going to walk into a territory I should not be walking in, because I don't want to see my best friend ruined." I tell him.

"And what question is that, that needs such an introduction?"

"Please, please, do not act on your feelings for Elena."

"And why wouldn't I do that?" he asks me. "Acting on your feelings is supposed to be healthy?"

"No, not when your brother is with her, it's not. I could give you a million reasons, but let's start with the fact that your brother was there first."

"I was first with Katherine. That did not stop Stefan." Damon tells me.

"It's not the same."

"Yes, it is," he insists and I shake my head. And he snaps. "How?! How is it any different?" He yells.

"Because Elena is not playing games!" I yell. "Katherine was playing both of you! She liked attention; she liked the passion and the thrill of it all. She liked the game and she played it like a pro! Hell, she may have even invented the game! A game that Elena is not playing and you need to open your eyes. She is not Katherine, and you know it. Katherine was playing with you, and Elena is not doing that. She loves Stefan. She is not teasing you, she's not giving you a bait to bite, she's not using some random, well thought, tricks. She simply loves the guy. If she was to turn around, tell you she loves you, I'd give you my blessing, no matter how bad that might end for Stefan. But she is not doing that. You are projecting. And if you keep on projecting, hoping and making moves that may end up swaying her in your direction, you'll be in big trouble. You'll ruin whatever's left with your relationship with Stefan, you'll go batshit crazy for the second time around, and frankly, you're going to make her hate you. And correct me if I'm wrong, but that's not something you're looking forward to, is it?"

"What if she was to change your mind?" He asks me. Good God, he's living in denial.

"I'd still think that wouldn't be too fair to Stefan. But if she does, go for it. And we're talking about the future, because right now, she's not showing any signs of having feelings for you."

"Yes, she is." he tells me. I knew he had feelings for Elena, but I didn't know he was this delusional.

"No, Damon, she's not. Did she kiss you? Did she tell you she likes you? Did she break up with Stefan so that she can be with you? No, no and no. She cares for you, she's worried for you. But I care for you, and I'm worried for you. It's friendship, Damon, not love."

"Zoe, you're underestimating me." Damon warns me.

"If I was underestimating you, I wouldn't be in here right now, having this conversation. I know you. You can act all you'd like, but I know you, and I am begging you, do not make the situation worse than it already is. Stefan knows you even better than I do, and he is not blind Damon. He knows the way you feel about her. The only person who seems to be blind to it is Elena. Judge me all you'd like for what I'm about to say, but if it was some guy against Theo, I know who'd I pick. And not just some random guy. If it was the love of my life against Theo, I'd still chose Theo. Don't choose someone else over Stefan. Not if that person doesn't want to be chosen."

"Zoe, I love you, but this is none of your business." He tells me.

"Actually, it kind of is. Who will pick up the pieces, Damon? I always do that for you. You do it for me as well! We do stupid shit but I learn. I make a stupid mistake and then I do all I can to avoid repeating it again. You, on the other hand, always take the same road, even if you know you'll reach a dead end!"

"Elena is not a dead end!"

"Does she think the same?!"

"I can make her think the same. And not by compulsion! I'm not a bad guy, Zoe. Of all the people, you should know it!" He tells me.

"And I do, for fuck's sake! I am here because I know it. You are a good guy, but you tend to do bad things. Don't even try to deny it Damon; you know it better than I do. There is a reason your humanity is still on. Guilt is what keeps you in check. You do shitty things, but what makes you a good person is that you actually feel bad about it. Set that aside and let's talk about your attitude. Compare yourself to Stefan. He is a guy that fell straight out of a romance novel. He's kind, beautiful, smart, fuck, he's ideal! And you are a great guy Damon. You are charming as hell and funny, and I don't even want to start talking about how good looking you are. You have that bad boy charm. And while a lot of girls, myself included, tend to go crazy about that, Elena does not fall into that group. She falls into the group of those who read books and imagine love stories like those, and Stefan is giving her just that. I have been a woman long enough to know that she will not fall for the bad boy. If you want to win her love and affection, you need to play a different game, Damon. You need to be nice. Kind. Helping. Little less of an ass. And you certainly won't win her over if you try to make Stefan look like a bad guy."

"Zoe, are you my friend or not?"

"I am, I'm trying to help you!"

"If that's what you're doing, stop trying!" He yells directly to my face. I watch in shock as the black veins pop up around his eyes. I watch as his eyes go red and fangs pop up and this was it for me.

Slowly, but surely, the two of us are ruining our friendship.

A mixture of anger and hurt hit me hard, right in the chest. I get up and I walk towards the door, not wanting Damon to see what's about to happen.

"Where are you going?" He asks after me.

"To one of the guest rooms," I tell him, not turning around. "I probably won't leave Mystic Falls soon, the way this is going. I'll find a new place I can stay at. And in case you were wondering, I talked to Jess," I say, remembering that he doesn't even know about it; he never cared enough to ask. "She told me that we are mixed into some heavy witch mojo. Apparently, it's dangerous, but Elena being human, she's in more danger than I am. We have a lot of research to do, and Jess will be the one doing most of the work. Just in case you were wondering. I know I'm not your biggest worry." I say as I close the door.

I wasn't planning to use his tactics, I really wasn't. It was the hurt that made me do it.

I really am hurt. It hurts me to see how much he cares for Elena while not giving a shit about me. As his friend, I think I deserve more.

There is no worse feeling than the one of losing your friend. The start of it is particularly bad; when you feel that something's going wrong and there's nothing you can do to change it.

You feel useless, and every other emotion falls short, even the feeling of anger and betrayal.

Not only does it feel as if my friendship with Damon is about to fall off a cliff; it also feels as if I am even further away from the goal I set out to achieve. Because every word I told him was the truth. Every word came from my heart. But there was a reason behind it, and for that, I hated myself.

Isobel wants that device and Damon would never give it to her. And I had to do all that was in my power to affect his decision.

Even if I meant every single word, I said it with a purpose. If I made Damon think that Elena would appreciate his good deeds, he might just make them. At this point, I'm disgusted with myself, but I did what I had to do.

At least that's what I'll keep saying to myself.


	8. You Need To Fall In Love, ASAP

**Here's a new one, guys. I hope you like it!**

 **I'll be updating soon!  
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* * *

With my little plan set in motion, there wasn't much I could do now other than to wait. And be a resident bodyguard.

With Isobel in town, we knew that no one could be too safe. That's why it was an all hands on deck operation. Stefan would keep an eye on Elena. Damon was planning to hang around the school as well; given the ongoing parade preparation, it was hardly a regular school day; it would be easy for him to sneak around. Damon and Stefan will keep an eye out for Elena, her brother and her friends. Which left me to keep an eye out for the other family member of Elena's.

I'm lucky Jenna is as bubbly and friendly as she was. The day we met, after I left to deal with a Stefan crisis, she told Ric to give her my number and tell me to call if I want some company that's not Damon. When I did just that today, she was more than happy to go for a walk and for a stroll.

"How long are you planning on staying?" She asks as we walk down the street, cups of coffee in our hands, sunglasses on our eyes; it really was a beautiful day.

"Honestly, I don't know," I smile at her. "I didn't give myself a limit, and I have no reason to be back in New York on a specific date. I guess it just depends on my mood." I say, deciding it might be better to not mention the fact that it also depends on when the man she shares a house with, decides to attack me and my friends. Some things are just better left unsaid.

"But what about your school, your family and friends?" Jenna asks.

"Well, I can study from here," I shrug. "As for the family, it's just my brother and his girlfriend. And we have been sharing a flat since forever; it might be nice to spend some time apart." I smile.

Jess called to let me know she left for New Haven. Theo believes is going there to one of her witchy meet ups; strictly prohibited to vampires. Setting a fake witch meet up in a city he has to avoid for the next few decades was a perfect decoy; besides, he had no reason not to trust Jess.

"You're not mentioning a guy," Jenna lifts up her glasses to give me a suspicious look. "Last time I was in New York, it had plenty to offer." She says and I burst out laughing.

"Ah, still does. Not for me, though." I add.

"Don't try to tell me no one's interested because I definitely won't believe you." Jenna laughs.

"I had a few flings, here and there," I lie; it was one fling, on and off for about 25 years. Simon wasn't the only one, but he was the only one I ever saw more than once. Huh. Saw. Nice way of saying it. "To tell you the truth, it's nothing worth mentioning. I'm single as fuck." I conclude, making Jenna laugh.

"I could always introduce you to someone while you're here," Jenna suggests. "I know a few decent guys. You just give me the specifications and I'll come up with something." She smiles proudly.

"Thanks, but I don't think I'll be sticking around for that long." I say, and she rolls her eyes at me.

"I wasn't trying to arrange a marriage. Why not have some fun while you're here?" She suggests.

"Thanks, but no. I'll let you know if I change my mind, though." I add.

"Please don't tell me you have a thing for Damon." She says, stopping in the middle of the street.

"No," I shake my head. We start moving again. "I might have taken it a step to far. Once. Or twice. Yeah, twice. But I'm not doing that again. We're better off as friends, trust me." I say.

"Was it any good?" Jenna asks me, dead serious. I can't stop the wicked grin that's forming on my face.

"Oh yes." I admit, smirking at her. Both of us giggle like two school girls.

I actually like her. And it's nice to talk to someone new. For years, Jess was the only girl I was friends with. Now I suppose I'm friends with Elena. And I'm heading the same way with her aunt.

"Do you want to go down to the school?" Jenna asks suddenly. "See how the parade preparation is going?" She asks, and I can tell that she's trying just a bit too hard to sound casual.

"You mean, to check on Alaric?" I ask. Jenna turns around and gives me a surprised look. I lift my sun glasses, so that she can see just how raised my eyebrow was. She sighs, dropping her act.

"Is it really that obvious?" She asks.

"To a girl, it is," I admit. "But Ric's probably as stupid as the rest of them. There's nothing wrong with being obvious; he's obvious too." I add, watching her sulky look turns into a grin. "Let's go; I parked just down the street." I tell her. After all, it might be a good idea to check in with Stefan and Elena.

* * *

"Do you always play music this loud?" Jenna yells, trying to overpower the song.

"I do when it's 'Black Keys'!" I yell back, watching as she shakes her head and laughs. Her complaints are absolutely invalid, since she's been singing along with me.

I park the car and we get out; both of us were looking for Ric, although I believe Jenna was a little less obvious than I was. I notice him first; I nod in his direction and Jenna follows me.

"Hello there!" I announce as I slap him on the back, maybe using a little too much force.

"Jesus!" Ric snaps, looking at me wide eyed. And then he notices Jenna. "Hey." He smiles at her.

"I'm afraid I'm not Jesus, and I'm definitely not Jenna." I mumble, earning a warning look for the both of them. They don't take jokes well. Noted. "So, how's the parade preparation going?"

"Torturous," Alaric admits, his face showing the pure pain he was going through. "How nice of both of you." he comments as Jenna and I both laughed at him and his misery.

"And that's why I'll never be a teacher." I announce proudly.

"I'll see you in a couple of years." Alaric frowns at me. Suddenly, both him and Jenna jump up at the sound of my phone. "That's your ringtone?" Ric asks in disbelief as "Ain't talkin' bout love" plays.

"Everyone loves a bit of 'Van Halen'," I shrug as I pull the phone out of my pocket; it did draw a lot of attention. Heads were turning our way and when I look at the screen, I see Theo's name. "I have to get this. Have fun!" I tease as I walk away from them, ignoring the daggers they shot at me.

"You were listening to the song again, weren't you?" Theo asks as soon as I pick up. Little ass.

"Actually no, I was simply busy," I say. "How may I help you, Theodore Cooper?"

"I'm bored." He mumbles.

"Of course you are," I laugh. "You're 19. Well, in reality, 46. And you don't know what to do when your big sis and your girlfriend leave you on your own, do you?"

"New Haven!" He snaps. "Out of all the places they could have a witchy convention, it has to be there!"

"What are the odds?" I mumble. The less I say, the better. I didn't even laugh at his witch convention comment. I think the witches would not take that one easily. "So, for the first time in a long time, you're alone and you have no idea what to do? Jeez, can you be more immature?"

"Thanks!" He snaps at me.

"Theo, I mean it," I say, shaking my head. "Go somewhere. Pack up and just go. Have espresso in Italy, wine in France, sushi in Japan! You're a vampire; you are not allowed to be bored." I remind him.

"You're right. You wanna come to?" He asks and I sigh.

"What did I just say?" I ask, sighing. "Go! Alone! You're a grown up, for fucks sake. Some of the best trips I took were the ones I took alone. Go, explore, have fun. When you get back home, Jess will be there."

"Fine!" He snaps at me, as if it is somehow my fault that he's bored. I bite my tongue. Sometimes it's better to be a punching bag than to punch back. "How are things down there?"

"Safe, but not good," I tell him, deciding to go with the truth. "Damon and I had a massive fight last night. It did not end well. We haven't talked today at all. As for the vamp issue, it's under control. We are all alive and well." I say. Well, I decided to go with a partial truth.

"Have you guys even had a proper fight before?" Theo asks.

"No, not like this," I admit with a sigh. "I'm sure we'll figure it out eventually. It's just so strange, not being on the same page with him. We never agreed on everything, but this is something else."

"I imagine you probably mentioned something about his feelings for his brother's new girl?" Theo asks. I did not tell him about the whole doppelgänger thing but I did mention this, following Jess's advice.

"Well, you can ignore a gigantic pink elephant for so long."

"Zoe, leave him be," Theo tells me. "I know you love him and so do I, but Damon doesn't listen. If you keep pushing him, the chances of him listening to your advice grow slimmer. It's useless."

"Theo, he finally has a chance to repair things with his brother. They're finally… acting nice." I mumble, not sure if that's how I should describe their relationship. They sure as hell aren't close.

"And he needs to do that on his own accord," Theo tells me. He has a point. I hate it when he's right and I'm the one who's wrong. But he is right; the more I try to connect Damon and Stefan with a band aid, the worse it'll be. "Do you think you three can keep it under control down there?" He asks me.

"Yes," I reassure him. "If it changes, you'll be the first I'll call." I lie.

"Okay. Call if you need me. I'll see where I'll go. Maybe Hamptons?" He suggests and I start laughing.

"You have the whole world at your disposal and you'd rather go to our summer house?"

"Okay, you have a point," he admits as we both laugh. "I'll think of something more exotic. Just point my finger at a map."

"Good, we're getting somewhere," I smile at him. Looking around, I see Elena nearby. "Hey, bro, I gotta go. I will talk to you soon. Just… have fun and don't worry. Okay?" I ask.

"Sure. And call if you need me!"

"Yeah, yeah." I say as I hang up. That's not going to happen. Even if my head ends up directly on a chopping block, I won't call him. As I put my phone away, I see Stefan and Elena talking. It takes me two seconds to realize that something was wrong. I run as fast as I can, staying in human speed.

"What's wrong?" I ask as I approach them, both of them jumping when they see me. Elena's eyes are wide and she's hyperventilating, on the verge of tears.

"Isobel has Jeremy," She says, barely keeping her voice normal. "And she hurt Matt."

"Who? What? Is he okay?" I ask, having no clue who the hell Matt was.

"He'll be fine," Stefan jumps in. "But she has Jeremy. And she wants the device."

I suppose we will know soon enough if my little mind games worked. If Damon thinks that giving the device would make him seem like a good guy in Elena's eyes, he might just give it. Or, it was all in vain and I started a fight with Damon for no good reason.

"Well, I don't know who's gonna talk to Damon about this, but I have a feeling it won't end well." I mumble. I give myself one moment of doubt, one tiny moment, before I take a deep breath and throw myself back into it. "I'm gonna make sure Jenna gets home safe. We regroup at the house."

* * *

I decided to do the most mature thing. Stay out of it.

Boxing was my way of getting rid of negative energy. It was either boxing or picking fights left and right. And I chose boxing. The first day I was here, sneaking around the house, I found a boxing bag in the attic. Today, I decided to hide and hit, away from the drama.

The last thing I heard was that Bonnie, Elena's witchy friend, confirmed that the device is supposed to be a super deadly weapon. We knew that before, but now we know that it was a super deadly weapon used specifically against vampires. That was my cue to leave.

With Red Hot Chili Peppers blasting through the stereo and all of the negative energy boiling up in me, it was easy to cut the rest of the world off; there's not much I can do now. With the way Damon and I left things last night, I'm the last person on this planet he'd want to do favors for.

Sweat was dripping off of me when the door opened; it was Elena, looking as worried as ever. I nod at her before turning the volume down; it's time to know how it all ended.

"Damon gave me the device." she tells me.

I had my hopes, but I never completely believed he would do it; especially not now that we know it is a weapon against us. His feelings for Elena must be stronger than I thought.

"Now what do we do?" I ask.

"I'll meet up with Isobel. Damon and Stefan will come with me," she tells me. Once again, they are keeping me out of it. It seems like the only thing I am doing here is just keeping them company? Maybe I am just… decoration? "You will wait here with Bonnie, okay? I think she wants to talk to you."

"Me?" I ask in surprise. "Why?"

"She made the device useless," Elena explains. "Whatever spell it had, she took it down. She's a witch and since she lost her Grandmother, she's alone in all of this. I might have mentioned that your friend is a witch too," Elena tells me with a guilty look on her face. "I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking."

"It's not a problem," I shake my head. "Fine, I'll guess I'll talk to her," I sigh. "I'll be down as soon as I take a shower. Good luck." I add, noticing how she looks like she needs it.

They're off to deal with a psychotic bitch and I'll have therapy hour with a witch. Oh, well.

* * *

Makeup free, in an old pair of sweats and an oversized Metallica T-shirt, with my wet hair up in a bun, I run down the stairs of the Salvatore house. It doesn't take me long to find the person I was looking for; an extremely nervous young girl was sitting in the living room.

"You must be Bonnie," I smile at her as I run into the living room. "I'm Zoe." I say, offering my hand.

"It's nice to meet you," She offers me a tight smile as we shake hands. I can't hold back my laughter. "What?" She asks, looking confused. I only laugh more.

"Sorry. I forgot just how much witches tend to hate us," I grin, seeing her shift uncomfortably in her seat. "Don't worry about it. I've stopped taking those reactions to heart about two decades ago. So, Elena told you I was a vampire and I know witches?"

"To be fair, she told you about me too." Bonnie mumbles.

"True," I agree. "And while I'm always up for a friendly conversation, I have a feeling there's more than that going on here. It's not every day that you get to discuss witchcraft with a Bennett witch."

"You know of the Bennett witches?" Bonnie asks me in surprise and I smile at her.

"Bonnie, I have been sharing an apartment with a witch for about 25 years; I know of the Bennett clan. I even met one of them; Sheila, I believe? If my math isn't rusty, she should be your grandmother?"

"You knew my Grams?" Bonnie asks, her green eyes staring at me in surprise.

"We met once, very briefly," I explain. "About 15 years ago, in New York. I remember she was nice. She kept her distance from me and my brother, but she was nice." I smile. She's hardly the only witch that ever kept her distance from us. We're used to it, at least I am.

"Your brother?" Bonnie asks in confusion.

"Let's say that my brother and my witchy friend are the Romeo and Juliet of the supernatural world."

"A vampire and a witch?" Bonnie asks, this time, grinning.

"For 26 years," I smile proudly, as if it was my relationship and I was the one that made it work for so long. To be honest, I was living through them. Which is very pathetic. "They're more like an old, married couple now. And living proof that there are exceptions for every rule."

"Doesn't that make your friend, like, really old?"

"Jessica may be old, but she's also a very powerful witch," I smile. This time, I was like one of those obnoxious mom's from 'Toddlers and Tiaras', like Jess was my beautiful little daughter. "She hasn't aged a day since I met her. But she's not immortal." I add. Jess insists that that's a bridge we'll cross once we get to it; so far, she's been strong enough to keep the spell up. If she's not worried about it, neither am I, but I know this is something that's bugging Theo. And with good reason; he is, after all, immortal.

"Could I meet her?" Bonnie asks. "I have no one to talk to, not about this. I'm alone. It would be nice to have a witch to learn from, if she'd be willing to help a complete rookie."

"She'd love to," I smile, already knowing Jess would be all for it. "But not yet. If she comes here, my brother will follow. And I can't have them in danger. Once all of this settles down, I will be happy to put you in touch with her."

"I can wait," Bonnie smiles. "You're different. From Damon. Even from Stefan."

"Not all vampires are the same, Bonnie," I smile, shaking my head. "Just like not all humans are the same. You have the bad guys and you have the good guys too. I happen to be the good guy. Don't be fooled by his act; Damon might be an ass and he might make some seriously questionable moves, but he's a good guy too." I tell her.

I don't have a chance to speak up in Damon's defense, as Stefan walks inside the house.

"Jeremy's alright," He tells us and both Bonnie and I breathe out a sigh of relief. "Elena's with him now. And Isobel has the device."

"I'll go check on Elena," Bonnie says as she stands up. "Thank you, Zoe." She tells me; what is it with these people and their thanking me all the time? I smile and shake my head. For a few seconds, I wait for Bonnie to leave the house, before turning to Stefan.

"What else happened?" I ask. He had a worried look on his face. To be fair, I don't think I've ever seen Stefan, minus a frown, but this was a different one.

"Isobel didn't choose her words nicely," he sighs. "She made a comment about Damon's feelings." He tells me. Unfortunately, he didn't have to elaborate about what that meant.

"I'm sorry," I mumble, making Stefan look up at me in confusion. "Damon might have had it planted in his head for a while, but I'm afraid I watered it. I knew Isobel wouldn't play nice, not until she got the device. Just as I knew that Damon wouldn't simply give it up, without a good reason. I played on his care for Elena, just like Isobel did. It needed to work, because that would be the only way he would have given up the device, but a part of me was hoping that it won't work. I'm sorry that it did."

"You did what you thought was best. You did what you had to do." Stefan tells me with a small smile.

"Yeah, but at what price?"

"A price I am willing to pay." He sighs.

And that right there is the biggest difference between the two of them. Despite his love for me, Damon would go out of his way to make me feel guilty if I did this to him. Stefan just… took one for the team.

We barely know each other, and yet he did not want me to feel guilty at all.

As much as I am 'Team Damon', I'm starting to understand why so many play for 'Team Stefan'.

"Well, she has the device. The tomb vampires are laying low and so is John Gilbert. Maybe, just maybe, this will all be over soon, and I can go my own way." I mumble.

"You really don't want to stay here, do you?" Stefan asks, making me laugh.

"If Mystic Falls ever stops being a death trap, you give me a call," I joke, making him smile." No, I need to go my own way. Away from here. Away from the city I spent most of my time in for the past 30 years. I need to find a new place, if only for a little while. I just need a change of scenery."

"You really think that's a good idea?"

"I know it's a good idea," I correct him. "It's been a while since I did anything on my own. I need some 'me' time. Once this is over, I'll go and I will live a little."

"If that's what you need, than it's what you should do. I'm going to go check up on Elena and Jeremy." He tells me. I give him a small wave and once again, I am left alone.

I was right about what I said to Stefan. And to Theo, earlier today. I need to be alone too. I have been a third wheel for too long. When all of this is over, it's time for me to go all "Eat, Pray, Love" on the world.

When all of this is over. Now's not the time for that.

But, with the drama toned down for a little while, I might as well use this time to work on my paper.

* * *

"If you're here to lecture me, feel free to go directly to your room." Damon tells me when he notices me at his door. I roll my eyes and walk in; not ignoring me completely was an invitation, at least in my mind.

"I'm not here to lecture you, D," I tell him as I sit on the edge of his bed. He leans over to pour two glasses of bourbon; he had a mini bar on his night stand. I take the glass he offers me and I wait for him to take a sip. "You did a good think today. There's nothing to lecture you for."

"That's all you've been doing pretty much since the day you got here. Why change?" He asks.

"You did," I shrug. "You were doing some stupid things when I got here. Even before that. Don't make me give you another grilling about how stupid it was to open a tomb because of that gargoyle that in the end wasn't even in it."

"Gargoyle? Nice," He approves, smiling at me. That's a nice change. "I got what I deserved, fair enough. I do think you were a bit harsh. Definitely more Team Stefan than Team Damon." He tells me and I kick him with my leg as I roll over to lie completely on the bed. And I didn't even spill the bourbon.

"I'm Team Salvatore, dumb ass," I say, making him laugh." You very much are one of the most important people in my life, but that doesn't mean I can't get along well with your brother. May I remind you, you too thought it was a good idea for me to help during the basement thing? Besides, you're my family. By default, that makes him my family too. I am Team Salvatore, all the way. I support the brother that has a point. Recently, that was Stefan. It'll be you soon enough. And when it's you, you can be sure I'll stand behind you. In spirit and over Skype." I grin.

"You won't be staying, will you?" He asks and I shake my head.

"When we're done with the tomb gang, I'm out. Too much drama in a short period of time. I'll go away for a while. From here, from New York. Do a bit of digging, research my family tree; figure out who Cleo was... I need some "me" time. I won't be good company for a little while."

"Why do you think that?" He asks me, confused.

"I'm not the same person, D," I sigh. "I don't know when or how, but I've changed."

"You're still the same Zoe I met. You haven't changed a bit to me." He tells me. I sigh, digging my head into a pillow. I stay there for a moment, thinking of ways to explain this to him.

"I didn't mean it like that," I say as I roll over to look at him. "I'm still the same girl. For the past 29 years, just living was enough for me. I was just happy I was alive. Everything was new and exciting. I was riding the high horse of vampirism; I used it all, I lived it all and fuck me, I had my fun. But it's dying down. I am still very much ecstatic to be alive, but it's just not enough anymore. I need something else. Another reason. I don't know what the hell it is, so don't ask me that. Your guess is as good as mine." I tell him.

"It sounds to me, my friend, like you need to fall in love, ASAP." He tells me and I burst out laughing.

"Do I? Maybe I do. I have been hoping for it for three decades, but so far, zero. Maybe I need to fall in love. Or to find a proper job. Maybe I need to finish journalism or art. Or to adopt a child and raise it as my own? Maybe I need a dog? I don't know, D. If I knew, I'd do it straight away. Whatever it is, it won't show up knocking on the door of the Salvatore boarding house, looking for me."

"Maybe it will?" He suggests." You'll never know if you leave?" he adds, with his most charming smile.

"And maybe it won't? I'll never know if I stay?" I fire back and he scuffs, shaking his head. "This is not my place, D. It is your place. I have you here and that's it. I have no strong, immortal reason to stay. Besides, this is like Sunnydale; the only thing we're missing is an actual vampire slayer." I grin at him.

"And we're ignoring the fact that we need you here?" he asks me; I raise my brow at him. "You're Elena's girlfriend. She needs to bore you to death about finding me attractive," he says and I laugh. "I need you to be my voice of reason and comic relief. Alaric needs a sexy vampire to make him question his beliefs, every now and then. Bonnie needs a connection to other witches, which you can provide. Stefan needs you to council him back to reality when he loses it. And frankly, the men of Mystic Falls need a nice ass to look at." He adds, grinning. I started laughing my ass off.

"I have to tell you, you do know how to sell it," I chuckle. "But I still don't think that's the right call. I can always come back. I can go, do my thing, and if it doesn't work, I'll move back into that guest room at the end of the hall. In order to come back I need to leave first. I owe it to myself. I owe it to you too."

"How?" He asks, looking at me like I am crazy.

After all this time, after all these years, he still doesn't understand the amount of gratitude I feel.

"Because you gave me an eternity to look forward to. I owe it to that guy, who flirted with me back in 1987 to make that eternity as awesome as possible."

"All of eternity. What's a couple of months in Mystic Falls if you have an eternity to look forward to?"

"A lot, if I don't know what it is I need," I sigh. "I have to figure it out, D. I'm not just doing this to you. I'll do it to Theo and Jess too. I need to be by myself for a little while, get my ducks in order. Once I do that, I can waste a year or two in this place. But one step at a time."

"I'm going to miss you." He tells me, sounding and looking like a kid who just lost his favorite toy.

"I may end up getting back before you know it. And we'll definitely keep in touch. I need to stop you from ruining your brother's relationship, don't I?" I ask him and he rolls his eyes at me.

"I'm not trying to ruin it, Zoe."

"I know. But hoping it'll get up ruined on its own is not a good road to take either. I don't want to do this again with you. You know very well that I think that it's just an infatuation, born from your obsession with that gargoyle."

"You have really adopted this gargoyle thing, haven't you?" He asks and I nod and smile with pride.

"Yup. Because that's what she is. The only thing I'm telling you is to wait. Who knows? Maybe Elena has a change of heart? Perhaps Stefan has a change of heart? What I see now are two people in love. I love you Damon, but you don't fit into that picture. Trying to force yourself in it would only make it worse. Don't meddle. Stick around and don't meddle, because for all you know, you might end up picking up the pieces. Don't meddle; if you do, you'll ruin your relationship with Stefan. And it seems to me that's it only stated getting back on track. I'm trying to cover your ass. I may care for them, but I'm not saying this for Elena or Stefan. I'm saying this for you. I don't want you to go through all of that again."

Finally, fucking FINALLY! I see something on his face, some sort of reaction. I'm not dumb enough to think I miraculously fixed him and brought some sense through his thick skull, but at least I'm affecting him. Maybe, just maybe, he'll see that I have a point about this.

"Let's just sleep; we've had enough drama for today," I suggest with a smile. "With Isobel and the device, not to mention the tomb vampires and the crazy ass council… it's enough."

"Let's not forget Papa Gilbert." Damon adds.

"Who?"

"Oh, don't tell me you haven't figured it out either?" He asks and I shake my head in confusion. "I'm surrounded by idiots," he mumbles, as he sits up. "Isobel. Elena's mom? Uncle John? The thing they had when they were teens? Isobel randomly showing up in Elena's father's office to give birth to Elena? John knowing about vampires, Isobel becoming one? Is it really that difficult to put two and two together? What am I now, Jerry Springer?" he snaps.

"Oh!" I snap, finally realizing it. It really was kind of obvious. "Is it really possible that this whole thing is getting more and more complicated by the second?"

"Apparently, yes." Damon sighs.


	9. Not Tonight, Cooper

**Hello, hello!  
I'm back with a new chapter! Let me know what you think! You know the drill, follow, favorite, review. I am desperate from some feedback!  
I hope you enjoy this one. We have a new character showing up in this one! :)**

* * *

"Can you tell me again how the hell did I end up in this mess?"

"Well, I needed help and you were kind enough to offer it." Alaric grunts as we lean over a heavy wooden panel onto the side of a float; heavy for him, that is. I could lift it with one hand, but given that we were in public, exhibiting my vampire strength would probably be a very bad idea.

"That's not the same conversation I recall," I say as I watch him nail the panel to the float; I add him nails as he's doing it. "I thought with Stefan out of the basement, I don't need to act as your assistant."

"With Isobel possibly hanging around, we'd rather be safe," he tells me. Okay, he does have a point. "Plus, I already talked to the principle. You have a cover," he says and I roll my eyes. Today, he introduced me to half of his students. I was hoping I'd get to avoid this, but apparently, I can't. "You were saying? About your family tree?" Ric asks, reminding me of our earlier topic.

"Oh yeah. Basically, my family moved here in the 1700's. Before that, Jess traced it back to England. To Bristol, to be exact. She didn't find anything we didn't already know. I knew about Bristol. I was hoping for some mysterious deaths or something, but she found nothing." I sigh.

"So what will you do now? Will you go to Bristol to check it out?" He asks me.

"I might," I shrug, as I haven't really considered the possibility. "I doubt there's much more I could find, no matter how deep I dig. Based on my own experiences, if you want something hidden, you'll hide it well. Actually, I wouldn't just hide it well; I'd destroy it completely."

"What you're trying to say is that you have no idea what to do?" Ric asks and I think for a second.

"Yeah, that covers it," I say, smiling when he started laughing. "Um, I think Caroline needs your help." I say, noticing the girl waving and pointing at Ric; Elena introduced me to the bubbly blonde earlier and I have exchanged enough sentences with her to conclude that she's too bubbly for my taste.

"I'd better see what that's about." Alaric says before disappearing. I take over from him, using the hammer and nails to keep the panel safely attached to the float. For a while, I just work in silence. It was nice to have my brain free from all the drama, even if it was only brief.

"I look like a penguin, don't I?" I hear Stefan's voice coming from behind her, and as I turn around to look at him, I start laughing my ass off; he is in an old, fancy long suit.

"Whoa, go Stefan!" I howl, making him laugh and shake his head, embarrassed by my reaction." Looking good! Elena will lose it; you look like you fell out of 1860's!" It's pretty much on point, although his hairstyle is more contemporary.

"That's what I was afraid of.," se mumbles. "Monkey suit. The things you do for love."

"Or, to try and stop your brother from jumping in?" I joke. He does smile, but it's a bitter, forced smile." Too soon? I'm sorry." I say, knowing that I took it a bit too far. All I can do now is not say anything about it again and look apologetic.

"Try it in a week," he smiles at me. I'm glad he doesn't share Damon's temper. "Speaking of the devil…" he says, and I follow the direction he was looking at, only to see Damon strolling nearby, creeping up on the high school festivities. At least I have a reason and explanation to why I am here.

"Play nice," I warn Stefan before he walks away. By the time I am finished with the panel, I listen in to their conversation and realize that they were not playing nice at all. If it was too soon for me to make a joke about his love for Elena, it was definitely too soon for Damon to do the same thing. Wanting to prevent any new drama, I drop the hammer and walk over towards them. "I thought I told you to play nice." I say, folding my arms. I'm acting like their mother, not like their friend.

"Zoe, the career, the goody two shoes, the shrink and the one who's trying to super glue the Salvatore family back together," Damon says, grinning. I can't think of what to say to that. He's being an idiot, that's it. "I'm playing nice. I think my brother is the one who needs to go in the quiet corner, not me."

"Rooms usually have 4 or more corners; more than enough for both of you." I offer him an angelic smile.

"True," Damon nods his head. "Alas, I regret to inform you that your worry is not needed; as I just reminded my brother, I am fully aware of the fact that Elena's not Katherine." He tells me.

What the hell is wrong with him? He was nice just a few hours ago? I thought we made amends, waved the white flag, smoked the peace pipe? Apparently, we're not on the same page here.

"We knew that even without your bright insight. As different as they may be, one can't help but wonder what you'll both do to stop history from repeating itself." I say, looking at Stefan now.

"It won't repeat itself with Elena. I'll make sure of that." He says. All threats sounds all the more threatening if said in a flat tone, which Stefan just used, looking directly at Damon. So much for peace.

"Don't look at me, brother. It won't happen. Elena is not Katherine." Damon confirms once again. Only a second later, I see his eyes go wide; Stefan's too. I turn around, and see the very reason why.

Of course, it was Elena. But this was not the skinny jeans, convers and T shirt Elena. This was a fancy dressed Elena; a fancy dressed Elena in a period dress. From afar, she looks as if she fell out of a time machine. If I thought she was Katherine the day she met her… well, she's lucky that the one time I tried to stake her, she wasn't wearing a period costume. She's a spitting image of that photograph. Right now, she literally is Katherine.

"Between the three of you, you could give Jerry Springer a season's worth of material. I have never met two men with more issues than the two of you." I mumble to them before walking away.

This was too much "One Tree Hill" for me to handle. I'm a Peyton girl. A Peyton girl stays out of a mess she is not directly involved in. If I stayed and offered snarky comments, like I wanted to, I'd probably end up being a referee at a boxing match. This one they'll have to solve without me.

"Zoe!" I hear someone call and I turn in surprise; I didn't recognize the voice. But it was Caroline, wearing the same kind of dress Elena had on. This girl is weird. And too friendly for my liking.

"Yeah?" I smile. The least I can do is play nice with Elena's friends.

"Can you take our picture?" She asks and I take her camera. "How do we look?" She asks.

"So long as… Matt, right?" I ask, trying to remember the name; both of them smile and nod. "Yes. So long as Matt keeps that cast hidden behind you, you're good to go," I smile as I take a photo. I give Caroline the camera back, just in time to see Stefan and Elena approaching; Elena looks a bit worse for wear. "Hey, how are you?" I ask, unsure if that's the right question to ask right now.

"Between a vampire mother, an Uncle who might end up being my biological father and a brother who hates me and who's in love with a vampire, I'm not too peachy." Elena tells me in a low voice, so that no one other than Stefan and me could actually hear her.

"I'm sorry." I sigh.

What else can I do? Pat her on the back? Say there-there? Sorry is my best option here.

"Stefan told me that your friend couldn't find anything in New Haven." Elena says with a sad smile.

"Yes. A dead end. Can't say I'm surprised. With my luck, it would practically be a miracle if she was found something useful. If I'm ever going to get to the bottom of this, it won't be in the archives."

"Then how?" She asks and I just shrug.

"At this point, I don't have a way. I'm starting to think it's impossible. But it doesn't matter that much. I'll survive," I say with another shrug, trying to play this whole thing off as if it's nothing special. "You better get on the platform; they can't leave without you." I joke. As lame as the joke is, the two of them laugh and leave me to get on that float.

With them safely boarded, I make my way through the crowd and find Alaric; my own personal safety net in this high school mess I was forcefully thrown in.

"Jenna and I will meet up for drinks at the Grill, before celebration part 2 and the fireworks start. If you'd like to join us?" He asks and I let out a chuckle.

"Fireworks. Wow. Why waste money on a good cause when you can waste it on pomp and pageantry? I'll be around. But I think you and Jenna might need a little one on one time now that your crazy, killer vampire ex is out of town," I suggest and I see the look he gives me; it's always the eyebrow. "What? Look, if I can't help Damon and his love life, I might as well help yours while I'm still here. You like her. Why not say it?" I ask him. Someone had to.

"I have my reasons." He tells me. Oh brother. I roll my eyes at his pathetic efforts.

"Men and their reasons. That one will never get old, let me tell you."

"Ouch. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned?" He asks and I start laughing again.

"Nice. And true. But not me; I've just had a front row seat on many special occasions. I have my girlfriends and I love them. I had Jess and her sisters. I like Elena and Jenna. Hell, I might even warm up to neurotic Caroline. But guys? I get them. I get along with them. And I have been a witness of guys "having their reasons" one too many times. And let me give you a piece of advice on that one. Trust me, it never ends well."

"That's very optimistic, thank you." He says in his sarcastic voice.

"I think the word you're looking for is realistic. I'm call 'em like I see 'em." I say, only realizing that I am quoting Britney's "Womanizer". Not my brightest moment. At least Alaric didn't catch it.

I watch Stefan and Elena smile and wave at the crowd as their float passes through the ocean of people. The period clothing is really throwing me off; I need to repeat it in my mind, again and again, that she's not Katherine. I hope Stefan doesn't have to do it too; if he does, his issues are more serious than I originally thought.

Huh. Salvatore brothers have issues. What's new?

* * *

After a quick change of clothes, I drive to the "Grill", as promised. Elena and Stefan will be around, Damon too, probably. But I had a deal. I was third wheeling Jenna and Ric tonight.

At least I looked good. I can't remember the last time I made a real effort, and tonight, I went all out. Fake eyelashes and all. Third wheeling never looked so good, if I do say so myself.

"Hiya," I wave over the bartender. He sighs before walking over to me. "A beer, please. Heineken. And change the music, please. It's not a funeral." I add. While I have nothing against this simple, chill out music, we're not at a beach bar; the place is packed.

"Can't do that, honey." He tells me as he slams the beer bottle in front of me. I smile and lean over the bar, closer to him.

"Change the damned music. Honey." I compel him. I watch as he walks over to the stereo, meddles with it for a few seconds. 'The White Stripes' blast through the speakers and I grin proudly; much better. How sad is it that a girl has to compel good music?

"That was obvious," Ric sternly tells me. I turn around and raise my eyebrow at him. "Let me guess, you don't care?" he asks, dropping the "Dad" act and smiling.

"Something like that, yeah." I grin.

"Ric, Zoe!" Jenna smiles as she walks over towards us. "I'd like you to meet Jamie. Well James. We've known…" I see Jenna's lips move but I have no idea what came out of her mouth next.

I was staring at the man next to her.

"Hi," He smiles at me, offering me his hand. "I'm Jamie"

"Hi. Zoe." I mumble, shaking his hand.

Be still, my beating heart.

He's ridiculously tall. Like, 6 foot something tall. While I normally don't gawk at blondes, this one was definitely gawking material. Blonde hair effortlessly pulled back. Piercing blue eyes that could stop hearts and a smile that could restart them all over again. Just the right amount of stubble, with cheekbones that could cut through glass.

I can't remember the last time a guy affected my ability to form a coherent thought.

"Um, Zoe?" Ric asks, coughing to catch my attention. I snap out of it, deciding to pretend like nothing's going on. Judging by the look on Jenna's face, they all saw it. Don't look at the hot one, don't look at the hot one! And there I go, look at the hot one. His smile almost put me in a cardiac arrest. And I'm dead.

"Why don't you ladies sit down while Ric and I wait for the drinks?" Jamie suggests. He had to be charming too! Like that overload of hotness wasn't enough for itself.

"I already have a drink, but thanks," I manage to mumble. It's nice to know my speaking ability is back. My cool, however, is not. "Jenna," I smile at the woman, linking our arms as I walk towards the first empty table I see, pulling her through the crowd. "You are so dead."

"I think you are," she starts laughing at me. "Sorry!" She apologizes as she noticed the look on my face.

"You could have warned me!" I hiss as we sit down; I turn around and look over my shoulder; Ric and The Hot One were still by the bar; it's safe to speak. "God, I looked so stupid!"

"You didn't," Jenna tries to reassure me. I glare at her. "What was I supposed to say? Hey, my friend is really hot, just so you know?" She asks.

"Yes!" I snap, running a hand through my hair. "Jesus, how tall is he?" I ask, looking over my shoulder.

"6 foot 4," Jenna tells me and I look at her wide eyed. "He's 28, a writer, mature with just the right amount of humor and most importantly, he's single." She gives me a wicked smile.

"Jenna, pleas shut up; I'm trying to gather whatever's left of my dignity."

"Relax!" She laughs. "He's a cool guy. Besides, with those looks, he's probably used to it."

"Not helping!" I snap at her. Why the hell am I freaking out like this?!

"Shut up, they're coming our way." Jenna warns me. Just in time too; I barely manage to muster a smile when the two of them sit down; thank God, Alaric sat down next to me and not Jenna.

"So, Zoe," The Hot One smiles at me. "Jenna tells me you're from New York?"

"New Haven originally. I've been in New York for a couple of years." I smile, trying hard to stop my eyes from moving away from his face. It did not go as planned. How wide could his shoulders possibly be? Does he have a six pack as well? Jesus, it should be a crime to look that good!

"How's Virginia warming up to you?" he asks.

Right now? Just fine.

* * *

Normally, it takes more than a pretty face and a few jokes to get and keep my attention. Normally.

Now, I was like the human version of the heart eyes emoji.

For two hours, I have been staring at the guy, trying not to look as smitten as I actually was.

He was the full package. Gorgeous face, great body, intelligence, humor all the while being very laid back and relaxed. If Jenna and Ric weren't with us, I don't know how I would handle this.

They were my safety net.

When I like a guy, I flirt. I don't know what the hell I was doing now, but it wasn't flirting. I was too smitten and start struck to even contemplate trying to leave the same impression on him.

"So, for how long will you be staying in Mystic Falls?" He asks me. By this point, the four of us were literally having two different conversations; Jenna and Ric were doing their thing, Jamie and I were doing ours; we only bothered to check in every once in a while.

"I'm not sure." I answer honestly, knowing I might seriously reconsider my desire to leave if he was to show a proper interest in me. Jeez, when did I become this person? What happened to the "I don't need a man" Zoe? I liked her, definitely more than this, "please ask me out, pretty please" Zoe.

"What does it depend on?" Jamie asks, smiling. Nah, he's not cocky. I know cocky when I see it; I've been with cocky. He was just… curious. It's a gem, really, to see someone so good looking and yet so down to earth.

"I don't really…" I start, but I'm interrupted when Damon shows up, right out of nowhere.

"Hey guys," he smiles, looking over all four of us. "Jenna… Blondie." He says, raising his eyebrow at Jamie. "I'm going to have to steal Ric and Zoe for a moment." He says. The tone of his voice was very casual and nothing on his face showed signs of trouble, but I knew something was off. If nothing else, it was his talking speed; Damon stretches out his words, he's not in a rush. This time, it was different.

"That urgent?" I ask, just to check. One nod from Damon was enough for me to turn around and give both Jenna and Jamie apologetic looks. "Sorry guys. We'll be back soon." I reassure them, having no clue when I'll be back.

"I'll see you when the fireworks start." Ric smiles at Jenna, as the both of us get up. I felt bad leaving as I did, but I had no choice. Ric gives me a questioning look as we follow Damon out of the place; I can only imagine the looks on Jamie and Jenna's faces.

Damon's will have some explaining to do. Ric and I finally catch up with him out in the street.

"Damon, what the hell is going on?" I ask.

"The square is filled with tomb vampires that'll attack tonight," Damon says, finally stopping in place and gives us a few seconds to process this information. "The council plans on using the vampire device that won't work. They will attack tonight, and there'll be a lot of blood if they do. I need help." He says.

"Follow me." Alaric says, snapping out of his daze before I had a chance to do the same. A bit scared, confused and definitely flabbergasted with this information, I follow them as Ric leads the way to his car.

I need to get into fighter mood, ASAP. We knew this was coming.

"What are we gonna do?" I ask as Ric opens the trunk of his car and starts handing us down his weapons; he gives me a stake, which I hide in the sleeve of my jacket.

"Ric's going to armor up and find Stefan and Elena," Damon tells me. "We need Stefan for this, and we need to get Elena and her brother away from here. If they're trying to kill founding families, Elena and Jeremy are on that list. Zoe, you and I will figure something out."

What the fuck?

"Damon, "we'll figure something out" doesn't sound like a solid plan," Ric tells him. "It doesn't sound like a plan at all! You need to know what you're going to do." He tells him. Yup, that covers it.

"First, we'll deal with John Gilbert and his stupid plan," Damon says, turning around to face them. "We'll think of our next move then. For now, it's stake them and kill them. We'll figure out how exactly we are going to do that in the town square." He tells us.

I don't think I ever wanted to slap him as bad as I want to now.

"With this, I officially don't own you for saving my life." I sigh as I grab another stake.

"You never owed me in the first place." Damon mumbles as he chooses a few stakes for himself.

"Zoe, are you really going through with this?" Ric asks me. "It's not a plan. You'll both get killed."

"Ric, as of now, I don't have a better idea. And since you're not sharing one, I imagine you don't have it either. If I get a better idea than Damon's master plan, believe me, I'll do it. But for now, this is how we do it. Get Elena and Jeremy to safety. Everything else is less important." I tell him, and when Damon nods his head, I follow him, not looking back.

"How do you know where we're going?" I ask, running to catch up with him.

"I have a pretty good idea where that bastard might be," he tells me. "I need you for this. I need you as a Buffy version of Zoe. But I also don't want to see you dead. It's not too late to turn around, Zo."

"Yeah, it is." I disagree. "Believe it or not, I don't want to see you dead either. We're doing it, even if it's the stupidest plan I've ever heard." I sigh.

"It's not a stupid plan. It can't be a stupid plan if we don't even have a plan to begin with."

"Yeah, that makes me feel better. Gilbert?" I ask when I notice the writing on the building in front of us; the building he was obviously taking me to.

"Yes. A Gilbert family building. Our little vampire hating friend has a taste for theatrics, I'm guessing. So? What do you say? You want to go in and kill him?" He asks, grinning.

"No, not particularly. I'll let you do the killing of Papa John," I mumble, frowning up at him. "I'll also let you explain that little part to Elena as well. That is, if we survive it at all."

"If we survive, I'll happily take that on. Now, let's go and kill some vampires." He says before opening the door of the building.

With a speech like that, I was expecting him to barge in, or break down the door, at the very least. A man jumps as we walk in. Finally, I am face to face with Papa John.

He has one of those faces. One of those obnoxious faces, the one that tells you in advance that the person having it is not likable at all. Vampire hating is a fitting adjective for the man in front of us.

"Just in time." He announces with a small smile. For a man that's staring at two vampires, he sure seems confident. He is either brave or incredibly stupid.

"Oh, you have a bigger problem, John. A square full of vampires ready to kill you." Damon tells him.

"I know. I was counting on that. This should cover both of my problems." He says, and as he turns around, I see him meddling with something. The theory was right; the piece we had was only a part of a vampire torture device. Isobel took it from us and gave it directly to him.

"That won't work John." Damon tells him. He turns around to look at me. I see fear in his eyes. I imagine he can see the same in mine too. Ignoring that feeling, I nod my head. I'm good to go.

Only, I don't really go anywhere. I fall to the ground immediately.

I couldn't open my eyes, I couldn't say anything. It feels as if I have a thousand needles, piercing my skull at the same time. For one second, it stops, but it starts all over again.

It happened five times. Five times, before I feel something cold on my neck.

* * *

When I open my eyes, I realize I'm lying on the floor. I look around; the first thing I see is flames. Great!

I hear a groan and I notice Damon next to me, looking worse than I felt.

"This was a stupid plan, Damon!" I groan. I can steel feel my head pulsating.

"It wasn't! We didn't have a plan to begin with!"

I can think of many colorful words I could use on him right now, but I bite my tongue and decide to try to get up. It doesn't work. I barely managed to raise myself enough to kneel.

"How are we supposed to leave if we can't even stand up!? We're going to die in here!" I yell.

"No, we're not!" He yells back at me.

"Well, at least I kept Theo out of this."

"Zoe, shut up, we're not going to die!" Damon yells at me.

"Yeah, we kind of are! I don't think you've noticed, but we're in a burning building!"

"How are we fucking fighting in this situation?!" He yells. "Zoe, look!" Damon yells and I turn to him. "The fire!" He yells and points at the stairs in front of us. The fire wasn't as strong anymore.

Finally, I could stand. Whatever John injected into me when he stabbed me with a needle in the neck, it had vervain in it. Luckily for me, Jess liked her experiments. Damon was not as lucky; he still couldn't stand.

I could make a run for it and I could make it. I'm not strong enough to take Damon with me. He can't stand at all and the room's still spinning. But I can't leave him.

As I was about to sign my death sentence, Stefan runs down the stairs, reaching Damon and helping him get back on his feet.

For a second, for one horrible second, I thought they would leave without me. I didn't even realize what was going on as Stefan grabbed me too; almost picking me up completely.

We were outside.

I start falling, but both Stefan and Elena hold me up. The very next second, all four of us, holding onto each other, fall down, trying to catch their breaths.

The pain, the vervain, the smoke. It was all too much.

* * *

I sat on the edge of the sidewalk, blood bag in hand. Stefan was eyeing me up, looking too worried. With some blood in my system, I was doing much better. I'm not as week as I was before and my head no longer hurts, but I do feel tired. And sleepy, which is not a common feeling for a vampire. Simply put, I am fine and in one piece, but I feel like shit. And I probably look like shit too.

"Are you doing better?" Stefan asks, sporting his must-have frown.

"Yeah," I nod, taking another sip of the blood. "Thank you. If you hadn't helped us…" I sigh, knowing exactly what would have happened if Stefan didn't run in. I would have died there, trying to help Damon. I would have died instead of saving myself. And that's kind of fucked up.

"Don't mention it," Stefan firmly says, shaking his head. "You'd do the same for me." He adds.

He's right. I would. Both Stefan and I are a special kind of crazy.

"I so need to put this town behind me." I sigh, knowing that this was the final straw.

"That's why you're staying at my place tonight," I hear Elena's voice, and when I turn around, I see her smiling at me. "If you're going to leave, I think I deserve a bit more time with you. You need your rest. I need to have a quiet night too. So you're going with me. I just need to stop by the school and take my stuff. And then we'll have a quiet and chill girl's night." she tells me. That doe eyed look of hers can really be brainwashing; no wonder she has Stefan wrapped around her finger.

"Why not?" I shrug. It's not like I was going to pull an all-nighter at the club. I sigh as I get up on my feet.

"Can you walk?" Stefan asks and I smile at him.

"Yeah. Don't worry. I'll bring the thermos; you're girl is safe with me. As soon as I take a shower, I'll be as good as new," I reassure the both of them. "I'm gonna get my car while you two kiss or whatever." I wave it off as I walk away from them.

Damon was already gone. He was running as soon as he could stand.

This night needs to be over.

"Zoe!" I hear a voice calling me and when I turn around, I see The Hot One, walking my way.

Shit. How much time has passed? Did Ric cover for me? Well, I'll wave at the boat as it sails away.

"Hey," I force a smile. "Sorry we disappeared like that. My friend had a problem and… I'm just done with it all." I sigh, not even bothering to hide how horrible I felt right now. To my surprise, Jamie smiled.

"It happens," he shrugs. "Look, I know this is going to be… random, at best. I don't really care," he laughs, shaking his head. He's acting weird. "I'd love to see you again. Maybe without Jenna and Ric in the picture." he adds, smiling. "I think I could really enjoy just… talking to you." Oh shit.

"Jamie… I'd love to," I admit, laughing at myself. "I really would. But I'm not staying here for good."

"So what?" He asks. "Just because you'll leave doesn't mean we can't have a great time?"

"True, but…"

"But what?" He asks before I have a chance to finish. Okay, he has some moves too. Am I really surprised?

What the hell am I doing? The hottest guy in the history of hotness just asked me out, and I'm making up some reasons? Good reasons, but reasons I could easily ignore, if I only tried.

"Jenna has my number," Jamie sighs. "If you change your mind, just ask for it. I hope you do." He tells me and with one last smile, he turns around and walks away, heading back to the "Grill".

"Ugh, you and me both, brother." I sigh, watching that amazing ass, walking away from me.

Not tonight, Cooper. Maybe not ever, but definitely not tonight.

 **Here we go guys, you know who'll be showing up soon, hue hue hue :)**

 **BTW, Jamie – Alexandar Skarsgård. You're welcome! :)**


	10. Love is love

**Here we go guys, a new one.**

 **And come on, gimme some feedback :D It would be much appreciated! :)**

* * *

I tap my fingers on the steering wheel as I wait for Elena to get out of the school. This was not a good time for me to be alone, as my mind would drift back to Jamie every few seconds or so.

I don't know what the hell's going on with me. Never before did a guy affect me this much. I was never properly in love, so it makes sense, but Jamie… Jamie is human. A human being who doesn't even live in the same part of the country as I do. I should just… stay away from him. Even if I don't want to.

I jump up in my seat as Elena slams into the car door, frantically trying to get it open.

"Caroline's in the hospital," she explains as she gets in. "Matt just called; they were in a car accident. She's not doing well." She tells me as she struggles to adjust her seatbelt.

"Are we going to the hospital?" I ask her, ready to turn the car around.

"I need to check on Jeremy first; she's in surgery either way, we won't know anything for some time," she tells me and I nod as I start the car. "Someone took my stuff too." she adds, frowning at me.

"Huh? Your clothes?"

"Yes," She confirms. "I suppose it was a mistake. I mean, it's just clothes."

"Maybe it was a prank?" I offer, unsure if that's what the kids are doing these days. "Look, let's just get you home first, and then we'll go to the hospital to wait for some news, okay?" I ask and when she nods her head, I smile at her before looking back on the road. So much for a quiet night alone.

"I can't believe Bonnie lied to me about that spell." She sighs after a short period of silence.

"Can you blame her?" I ask, earning a frown. "That device works both ways; it harms vampires and it protects humans. We basically asked her to break a device that can help save human lives. I don't blame her for not doing it and I don't think you should. Especially when she helped Stefan." I add.

If it wasn't for Bonnie Bennett, Damon and I would have burned in that basement. Yes, it was a bit of a dick move from her part, making us believe that the device is useless. As bad as that was, I know where she's coming from, why she did it. Besides, she made up for it with saving Damon and myself.

"I guess you have a point," Elena agrees. "I don't know, this is all too much. I just want to check on Jeremy and then on Caroline. I just want all of this to be over."

"Why are you so worried about Jeremy?" I ask her.

"Anna died in that fire," Elena tells me. Oh, vampire girlfriend. She did mention that a couple of times. "I don't know if he knows about it. And if he does, I'm not sure how well he's handling it."

"He's gonna be okay, I reassure her, without anything to support my opinion. "We'll help him."

"We have to," Elena agrees with a sigh. "Turn left here," she tells me just as her phone rings." It's Stefan." She tells me before she answers the call. I zone out, not wanting to listen in.

She points at a house and I park in front of it while she finishes her conversation with Stefan. I wait for her to fish out the keys from her bag; it's a nice house. Quite homey, less gothic than what the Salvatore brothers got going on.

"He's going to meet up with us at the hospital," she tells me. "Let's hurry up, okay?"

"Yeah, sure," I agree. I watch on as she walks into the house and yells out Jeremy's name. I smile at the stupidity of it; it's been a while since I was last stuck on a doorstep.

"Why are you just standing there?" Elena laughs, obviously forgetting about that little vampire minus, just as I did. I smile and I open my mouth to explain what's going on, when both of us hear a noise coming from the house; kitchen, if my hearing is right. I hear movement and my eyes go wide.

"Elena, invite me in, right now!" I order her, just as I see someone moving around. In vampire speed.

"Come in!" She yells, and I waste no time, running inside. I run to the living room, but I miss him. I run after it outside, but the door slams before I get to it. That's when I hear Elena's scream. And smell blood.

"Oh my God!" She yells from the kitchen floor. I either help Elena or I go after the vampire. I run to the kitchen and my mouth drops. I look on as Elena calls an ambulance with shaking hands; John Gilbert's lying on the floor with a stab wound in his gut; his hand is covered in a towel, as Elena tries to keep pressure on both his wound and his hand. His fingers, along with the magical ring, were on a counter.

Smell of blood hits me and I bite my lip, staring down at John as he stares up at me; knowing what I am, knowing that he tried to kill me tonight, and failed miserably. And now I'm just hungry.

"Elena, Jeremy. Check on him." I order her and she runs out of the kitchen and into her brother's room.

I get down on the floor, looking at John, who has nothing but fear in his eyes.

"Oh, how I have a feeling I'm going to regret this!" I sigh before biting down on my hand and slamming it onto John's face as soon as my blood starts running. He's trying to fight it, I can feel it. I wait, unsure of how long he should keep on drinking; how much will be enough for him to heal.

I wait until I hear Elena freaking out.

"You owe me," I warn him before getting up and running up the stairs; it doesn't take me long to realize why Elena was freaking out; she was on the bed, holding her brother. And he was unconscious. "What did he do?" I snap as I push her out of the way and pull Jeremy closer to me; I rest my head on his chest, waiting for the sound. I breathe out a sigh of relief when I hear it. It's faint, but it's there. "He's alive."

"He took pills," Elena tells me, still looking and sounding very frantic. "What's that?" She asks, pointing at the nightstand. I twist my head around to see an empty vial; I grab it before Elena has a chance to, and I see the blood. Only after smelling it I realize that it's vampire blood.

"Vampire blood," I mumble as her eyes go wide. "It didn't work. Go down, wait for the ambulance. And call Stefan. I'll take care of Jeremy but you need to be with John." I order her.

She listens to me and runs downstairs at once. Feeling unsure of my own hearing, I listen to Jeremy's heartbeat once again. It's there. He's still human. He didn't take enough pills; the vampire blood must have cured him. Holding Jeremy's hand in mine, I take my phone and dial Damon's number; voicemail.

"Damon, pick the frickin' phone. It's urgent! Shit's going down." I say and hang up.

If that Anna chick didn't die tonight, I would have killed her myself.

How could she? If she was alive at the same time Damon and Stefan were, that would make her over 150. For all we know, she could be 500! She had more than enough of life. Jeremy? He's a fucking kid! He's 16! When I was 16 I had no idea who the hell I was, or how my life will end up being!

At 16, you don't know who the love of your life is and you sure as hell don't turn into a vampire because of them. He's a stupid teenager and he did what stupid teenagers do. Luckily for him, it didn't work.

It doesn't take him long to wake up; the ambulance didn't even arrive.

"Did it work?" He asks, looking wide eyed.

Um, hello? Had he even laid eyes on me before all of this? He doesn't even know who I am!

"No, it didn't," I snap, possibly too harsh, given that the kid almost died. "And you're lucky."

"I know what you are," he tells me. Should I be surprised? "Anna knew about you. She told me. I know she is dead. That's why I wanted to do it. So it doesn't have to hurt anymore."

"Well, she did tell you a pretty little story," I sigh. God, I would kill that girl! "It doesn't work like that. It's not black and white. I would give everything up to have a chance to be a normal human being. All of us would. Because you still feel pain. It doesn't go away for good. That move, shutting off your emotions? That doesn't work permanently. And trust me, when they come back, they don't come back slowly. It all crashes on you, all at once. You have no idea how lucky you are."

The kid looked at me in wonder. I imagine his vampire girlfriend didn't warn him about this.

"Every time you see us being normal, we're fighting it. Every time we run away from blood, we are fighting it. It does not stop. Not when you are fed, not when you are asleep, not when you are dying. It controls you and you fight it, because acting like a human is the only thing you have left. If you had any idea how difficult it is to do this, you never would have tried to become one of us. You are luckier than most, Jeremy. You'll get a second chance. We didn't get that." I tell him.

"You made that choice? What gives you the right to tell me I'm not allowed to make it?" He asks me.

"I was dying when I turned," I shake my head. Am I really going to share my story with this cocky teen? "I did not have a better option than this one. I turned because if I didn't, I would have died. And no one would be able to take care of my brother because we lost our parents in a car accident. Sounds familiar, doesn't it? How dare you make assumptions? I was practically dead already and you fell in love."

"I didn't know. I… I'm sorry." He mumbles, and I laugh at him.

"Of course you didn't," I shake my head. Maybe I am meant to be a teacher after all? "You should cut your sister some slack. The smartest thing she could have done for you was to keep you out of all of this. She was trying to do that, but you found your own way. Your Uncle almost killed us all, and now he's lying half dead in the kitchen; that's how vampires affect your life," I say, watching as his eyes grow wide. "She only tried to keep her safe. And as an older sister, I can relate to that."

Jeremy stays silent for a while. I imagine this was all a bit too much for him. I didn't exactly choose my words carefully. I wish I had the luxury of doing that… he had to hear the truth. It's not nice and it's not peachy and that's exactly why he needed to know.

"Being a vampire is not all fun and games, Jeremy," I sigh, grabbing his hand. "It has some good sides, but… I'm a vampire. And if a vampire tells you they'd rather be human, you know it's not good. The ambulance is here." I say, and seconds later, he could hear them too.

"Who did this to him?" he asks me. Again, I feel uneasy. A vampire was in their house. He did this.

"I didn't see him. I could have run after him, but I decided to say the life of a man who almost burned me to death tonight. I guess I have issues too."

For all I know, John would have made it, even without my blood to help him. I might have made a huge, huge mistake. I might have the strength I need to kill a vampire but I have never really done it. Honestly, I don't know if I'd be capable of doing it. Even if it would be better for us to have that vampire dead.

I hear commotion downstairs as Stefan and Elena burst into the room. Stefan looks directly at me and with one nod he tells me all I needed to hear.

If I wasn't with Elena, she might have been dead. Indirect or not, I might have just saved her life.

"We have to talk." He tells me and I nod my head, following him downstairs as we leave Elena with Jeremy. The ambulance had already taken John away, but the blood was still there. For a moment, I felt the urge to clean it up; it looked so wrong, to leave it there. But then I remembered whose blood it is.

"Did you see who it was?" Stefan asks me as we walk into the kitchen. Elena rushes to join us.

"No. He was out as soon as Elena invited me in. But whoever it was, he knew about his ring. He wanted to get John's ring out of the way before killing him. I'm guessing it was one of the tomb vampires; maybe one of them was a backup plan, or out of the plan completely. Maybe he wasn't close to the square when the device was set off. But it's only a guess. A guess that's as good as any." I tell him.

"I need to keep an eye on Jeremy," he says and I nod my head. "Elena needs to meet Jenna at the hospital and check on Caroline. I don't like the idea of her going there alone, not now."

"Don't worry about it, I'm going with her," I say and give Elena a small smile she returns, although it doesn't quite meet her eyes. "You're driving, though. I gave John quite a bit of blood." I explain.

"Do you need a blood bag?" Stefan asks. As always, worried I'll drain his girlfriend out.

"Nah, I'll live. If there's a place to find a blood bag, it's the hospital. Let's go." I say, nodding towards the door. This was a long ass night to begin with and I want it over as soon as possible.

* * *

I listen on as Elena, Bonnie and Damon are debating whether or not to feed Caroline vampire blood; she was in critical condition.

I understood why Elena was against it, just as I understood why Bonnie was all for it. if they go for it, which they will, they have my blessing; if I could give my blood to John fucking Gilbert, Caroline deserves her chance too.

While Bonnie and Elena were talking, I decide to use my moment; I get up and pull Damon away.

"Where the hell were you?" I ask him. "We needed you. You can't just… disappear into thin air."

"I wasn't in the car with Caroline. How could I have helped?" He asks in wonder.

"I'm not talking about that, Damon!" I whine; he looks even more confused. "I'm talking about the vampire that was in Elena's house and almost killed John."

"A vampire was in Elena's house?" He asks in surprise. I turn to look at Elena, who was approaching us.

"You didn't tell him?" I ask. Seriously? Isn't that an important piece of information.

"I was focused on Caroline." Elena shrugs, giving me her best "I'm sorry" look.

"Wait, what vampire?" Damon interrupts us. "When did this happen? Did it happen after I left?"

"Huh?" "What?" Elena and I ask at the same time. Damon rolls his eyes before narrowing them at Elena.

"Okay, sweetheart, you can't pretend like it didn't happen," he growls at her. "We kissed."

"What?" Elena asks in confusion before sighing. "Damon, I seriously can't do this right now."

"John was almost dead when we walked inside; I think we have bigger issues right now." I tell Damon.

"You were at Elena's house?" Damon asks me. What are we doing, running in circles?!

"Did you not just register everything we've told you?" I ask. I am so close to kicking him in the nuts.

"I didn't see you with Elena." He shakes his head.

"Did the vervain damage your brain?" I snap, finally losing my cool. Elena shoots me a warning look and I take a deep breath to calm myself down. "I just told you, I was with her the whole time."

"She was," Elena confirms, nodding her head. "Stefan's at the house now with Jeremy. Caroline will get better, John will survive; I need to go deal with my suicidal, wannabe vampire brother." She mumbles.

"Oh!" Damon snaps, causing both Elena and I to jump up in surprise. "Oh! You have got to be kidding me!" He growls, stomping his foot like a child in the midst of a tantrum. "We need to get out of here." He tells us, and before either one of us could say anything, he grabs us both by the hand.

He drags us out of the hospital and directly into this car, ignoring our complaints and grunts.

Damon completely ignored the speed limit, but I said nothing, glad that for once he was actually taking something seriously. And it is serious; if I wasn't with her, Elena could have been dead now.

"Why John?" Elena speaks up after a very long and awkward period of silence.

"What do you mean "why John"?" I ask her, turning to look at her in the back seat.

"Why John? I know they wanted to kill the founding families, but everyone else was in the square. It would have been easier to simply kill someone there." She says and I shake my head.

"No, whoever it was, they were not in the square. Every vampire in the vicinity was affected. And we are the only ones who got out of the building. They had to be away. And my guess is that they targeted John because he was the one who started the device. He missed a spot. I am more worried a vampire we don't know being invited into your house."

It had to be one of those from the tomb. Vendetta against the founding families or John. They had to be away while the device was on. They were also invited in the house. And they knew about John's ring.

And then there's Damon and his little tantrum.

He thought he kissed Elena. And he didn't see me with her. He was at the house and we did not see him there. Whoever it was, they got in after Damon got out and said his lovely goodbyes to Elena. _Elena_.

Oh shit.

"Oh my God," I mumble, snapping my head towards Damon so fast, I might have caused myself a serious neck injury. He looked at me. There was no cockiness there, no "I told you so" looks, no eyebrow moves. He was dead serious. And he confirmed it all. "No. No, no, no. No way!" I shake my head, feeling the panic rise in my chest.

"What is it?" Elena jumps up from the back seat, aware that she has missed something. The panic I felt now turned into anger and I punch the door, like a proper angsty teen that I'm not.

Before I can even try and break this to Elena, Damon makes a sudden turn and parks in front of her house. Wasting no time, both he and I charge into the house, with Elena trying to catch up with us. We get there just in time to see one vampire making an exit and Stefan lying on the floor, fixing his arm.

"Stefan, what happened?" Elena asks, running to him. "Was it the vampire who tried to kill John?"

"I'm afraid it was, yeah." He says, looking in turns to Damon and me.

"Do we know him?" Elena asks.

"It was Katherine." Damon informs her in a somber tone. She looks at each of us, waiting for a loud laugh and a "gotcha" grin, but it didn't happen. It's Katherine. She's back.

* * *

Why is she here? Why now? What does she want?

Why didn't she show her face before? Why try to kill John? And what will this mean for our budding love triangle? Will it turn into a rectangle? Or will someone be dead before that happens?

We go over all of these questions for a very, very long time. Between the fact that Katherine fucking Pierce is back and causing havoc, and the tension growing between Peter Pan and Tinkerbelle over here, I was slowly but surely losing my will to live.

With each passing minute, I was sinking into Elena's very comfortable couch, thinking how judging by this rate, I'll never leave Mystic Falls. We literally finished dealing with one problem two hours ago and now what? Now we have a very old, very jealous and very psychotic vampire running around town.

Not to mention that she looks exactly like Elena.

I listened on as Stefan and Damon chased each other in circles. The only thing they needed was a frying pan and a baseball bat, to hit each other over the head, while sporadically shouting Elena's or Katherine's name.

Surprise, surprise: We had no answers.

And we won't have them, until Katherine bothers enough to give them to us. Which she won't. And if by some miracle, she does, it won't be today.

The whole thing ended with a Damon – Stefan stare down because of Damon's kiss with Katherine while he thought she was Elena. Once the stare down was over, Damon elegantly left the building, leaving me, still very much silent, to play a third wheel for a frowning Stefan and a freaked out Elena.

"I have to go after him," Stefan tells us, just minutes after Damon left. "He's not in his right mind. If anyone can get to him, it's Katherine. He can do something stupid."

I hate to do it, I really do. I hate it, but I have to agree. He did stupid things when he thought she was rotting in an underground tomb; what could he do when she's out here, having a blast?

"Better you than me." I sigh, knowing very well that I would probably punch Damon if I go after him.

"Can you stay with Elena?" Stefan asks.

"Yeah, sure," I sigh. "That was the original plan."

"Are you sure?" Stefan asks; I roll my eyes and look at Elena, only to see the same worried look on her.

"Yes. Katherine's been inside. Someone should keep an eye out for Elena and Jeremy. You or me, it doesn't matter. And if I go after Damon, well, I might just kill him. You won't, even if you have more reasons to do it. Go. Do your thing. We'll be fine over here."

* * *

My last proper sleepover party must have been in the early 80's. It went down in the typical 80's fashion; we'd swoon over the cast of "Breakfast club" and over-curl our hair. Ah, Judd Nelson… be still my beating heart. I will never get over that bad boy.

I never imagined I'd have a proper sleepover ever again, not at the tender age of 49. Sure, every now and then, Jess and I would kick Theo out of the place, get drunk and watch a movie with some hot guys, but it wasn't like this. I was about 35 years too old for this and yet here I am, lying on Elena's floor, on a makeshift bed. It had to be done. And let's be honest, it's hardly torture.

"Zoe." I hear Elena's voice. "You asleep?" She asks.

"What do you think?" I mumble in the pillow she gave me.

"Nearly dying gives you insomnia?" Elena asks me and I have to hold back my laughter.

"Yeah, it kind of does. How 'bout an angry vampire double?"

"Yup," she confirms, and I could just hear the uneasiness in her voice. "How would you react if it was Cleo?" She asks. For a second, I think she's being sarcastic, but the tone of her voice actually makes her sound curious. I raise myself up and lean on her bed while she rolls over closer to me.

I barely convinced her that I'm fine with sleeping on the floor, and not with her on the gigantic bed; she could roll around in peace; I already knew I won't be getting any sleep tonight.

"I'd lose my shit," I sigh, imagining my own reaction to Cleo. "I'd probably try to stake her then and there. On the other hand, Katherine is a psychotic, jealous gargoyle, and judging by Stefan told me, Cleo was kind of nice," I shrug. "I'm guessing you were lucky not to meet her face to face. That would be a whole different level of freaky."

"Yeah, I wonder how long before that luck runs out." She grunts.

"Look, you're not alone. Whatever it is Katherine came back for, she's not getting it." I reassure her.

"Do you mean whatever or whoever she wants?" Elena asks, once again proving that she's a smart one.

"Does it matter? Are you afraid she'll steal your guy?" I ask her, and when she doesn't respond, I take a deep breath, going back to "shrink Zoe". "I wouldn't worry about that if I were you, and I mean it."

"How could I not? I mean, I'm human. She's a vampire. Every minute he's with me, Stefan is struggling. I know we're different people, completely opposite ends of a spectrum, but she's like a meaner, vampire version of me. She wouldn't have to hold back with her, wouldn't he?"

Once upon a time, when Damon joked about the two of them being BFF's, braiding each other's hair and talking boys, Zoe thought he was pushing it a bit too far. Oh, but how right he was.

"You said it all. Look, Elena, Stefan's the hero type of guy. He likes you. And he likes the human aspects of you. If you're worried about him going for Katherine because she's a vampire, you really shouldn't."

"He chose her once."

"Which doesn't mean he'll choose her again. I had sex with Damon about 29 years ago. Will I do it again? I won't. Because some things don't work. He and I wouldn't work because we're friends. Stefan and Katherine wouldn't work because Stefan's a good guy and Katherine's nuts."

"You had sex with Damon?" Elena asks, making me laugh.

"Seriously? That was the part you focus on?" I ask, and this time, she joins in on the laughter.

"You talk about Katherine like you know her, and I know you don't."

"I don't. I've never met her, thank God. But I know women like her. I'm not proud to admit it, but I was a woman like her too. She has some qualities that are impressive, when you think about it. She's persistent. She's smart. And ballsy. I like that. But she's also selfish. Cunning too. And would save her own ass even if that meant putting everyone around her in danger. I know women like that, and at times, I was a woman like that. It's really not something I'm particularly proud of. She stands up for herself. Granted, she takes it a step too far, but she's not a pushover."

"I don't know," Elena sighs, hugging her pillow. "I'm afraid of her, of what she might do."

"There's nothing wrong with being afraid," I tell her, shaking my head." Fear is healthy. I guess you could say that fear makes you want to feel alive. That's the thing. Tonight, when I was in that building? I was sure that I was going to die. I thought "This is it, this is how I go". But I didn't die. And while I have no clue what's in store for me, I know for a fact that I will do all I possibly can to avoid feeling like that again. There's nothing wrong with being afraid of Katherine, Elena. I am afraid of her too."

"You don't show it," Elena smiles at me and I roll my eyes. I'm not so sure about that. "I've known you for only a couple of days, but we spent a lot of time together. And you never showed fear." She tells me.

"I can pretend very well, but that's not a good thing. Sure, it comes in handy, every once and a while, but ultimately, it's not doing me much good."

"At least the person you're scared of doesn't know you're scared of them."

"Well, if they're smart, they could guess," I chuckle. "Look, Elena, there's no need to worry yourself sick. We can't do anything yet. She doesn't have the numbers. We don't even know for sure why she's here for. Let's just wait before we decide that we should worry too much, okay?" I suggest.

"I hope you're right," Elena sighs. "I thought we could have a normal life, finally."

"Honey, you're dating a vampire. I can guarantee you that you will never have a normal life." I tell her. I feel bad when I noticed the look on her face, but I couldn't lie. She knows it too.

"You think I'm an idiot, don't you?" Elena asks me and I look at her in confusion, not knowing where the hell is this coming from. "You think I'm an idiot, for being with Stefan? For being with a vampire?"

"I think you're in love, not an idiot," I smile at her, shaking my head. "It's not safe and you know it. But it's also your choice. Love makes us do stupid, stupid things." I sigh.

"Have you ever been in love?" Elena asks. "With a human, with a vampire?"

"Nope," I sigh; it was hard to ignore the pity in her eyes. "It's easy for me to be so full of shit, when I could fall for a human tomorrow. And I don't know what the hell I would do. I don't have a right to force my opinions on anyone, human or vampire. Love is… love," I shrug, not having a better explanation. "When you're in love, you don't really need reasons. Now, enough," I announce, fixing my makeshift bed. "We have a long ass day tomorrow, and these issues will be here when we wake up."

"You're right," Elena smiles as she lies down. "Sweet dreams." She adds and I almost laugh at the irony.


	11. I Don't Look A Day Over 45

**Okay guys, so this one is a bit longer. I'll see if I follow this 'long chapter' road, but for now, I do what I can. I hope you like it and I hope you let me know what you think! I'll update soon :)**

* * *

Not once did I stop to consider how my new friend Jenna would react to me being BFF's with her niece; after all, it doesn't make much since if you're not familiar to the vampire part of the story.

Luckily for us, Jenna is the most laid back person; she just grinned and offered me coffee, before letting that grin drop and starting the conversation about what had happened. She was given the vampire free version. While that version makes less sense, we couldn't exactly tell her the truth about Katherine. Soon enough, she was out of the house, off to fill out a police report because of the fire, leaving me and Elena to regroup and talk to Sylvester and Tweety before we join them.

"Damon's going to the Lockwood's, to pay his respects," I tell Elena as I walk back into the kitchen, taking a big sip of my coffee. "He wants to figure out why Tyler and his dad reacted to the device, when they are clearly not vampires." I grunt as I sit up on the edge of the kitchen table; another issue we haven't had a chance to react to in proper fashion; apparently, Elena's school friend Tyler and his daddy, the former Mayor, are supernatural beings too, as both were affected by the vampire device. My first reaction was to declare them vampires, but Damon reassured me that they're not.

"Do you have any idea why that would happen?" Elena asks me and I shake my head.

"No clue. But whatever it is, I imagine it's not good. I mean, why would it be? With our luck, Tyler Lockwood is a zombie that can never decompose. What about Stefan?"

"We're going to go to the hospital to check up on Caroline and to try and get some information about Katherine out of John," she tells me." Do you want to join us?" She offers.

"Um, no," I say, shaking my head with a smile. "I liked Caroline well enough, so give her my best wishes. But John tried to kill me; I think it's better if the two of us just stay away from each other for a while."

"You're probably right," She agrees, giving me a look. "So, will you go to the Lockwood's with Damon?"

"Nah, I don't even know them," I reply, frowning. "It would be weird to be there. I guess I just have nothing to do while we wait for Katherine to make her next move. Which is fine by me. I think I need a normal day." I sigh. I need a normal day away from here, but who cares, right?"

* * *

I was hoping for a normal day, and for a little while, it seemed to go that way. I had a proper work out; I ran around Mystic Falls for a solid hour before emptying a lot of my anger onto the boxing bag. Up until that point, I was good. But as soon as I was done punching, my phone rang. For two times in a row.

Firstly, it was Stefan, telling me that Katherine actually stabbed him. No one was seriously harmed, but the girl wasn't wasting her time. Apparently, he is the reason of her return. The second caller was Jess. I expected that one, when the text I sent her last night was "Almost died, still alive though. Katherine's back". I also expected her reaction.

She was angry beyond words. After a solid half hour of telling me off, she insisted I come clean to Theo. And while I agreed to that, I decided to use her as my human shield. To my surprise, she agreed; I will be expecting another call, later today. And I imagine Theo won't pick his words carefully.

Knowing I only have a few hours before the wave slams into me, I decided to have a normal, human night. A night away from the "One Tree Hill" styled drama, a night away from the vampires, a night away from my own mind setting me up for failure.

Just one night. One normal night.

And I got just that. Until I was halfway done with the 'Mystic Grill Cheeseburger'.

"Hello there." I hear a voice and when I look up, there he is; The Hot One.

I wasn't expecting him, not by any means, but I wasn't as blinded by his looks this time around.

"Hey," I smile. I opened my mouth, trying to say something. 'You hang around here often, don't you' and anything along those lines would be both pathetic and so not me. I don't do awkward; it's time to stop acting like I do. "Care to join?" I ask, nodding at the empty chair on the other side of the table.

"I'd love to." He smiles. As he sits down, I watch him. The stubble was officially perfect and his shirt was buttoned up one button too much.

He's hardly The Rock, but he has some muscle going on there. And when he looks up and smiles at me… the blue, it's always the blue.

It's official: I have the hots for a human.

* * *

Jamie has this very nice, rich voice. I wouldn't call it calm. When he emphasizes his words, you notice it. And though he doesn't sound like he swallowed a dictionary, you can just tell he's a smart guy.

Finally, after two separate occasions and about three hours in total, I was able to be myself. Well, as much as I can be around a human.

"So, you're the type of girl that would drive across the country to help her friend?"

"Okay, New York is not really across the country, come on," I correct him, shaking it off as if what I did was nothing at all. "It's that kind of friendship. He's been there for me; the least I can do is to be there for him. Even if I do have to temporarily change my place of residence." I add.

"And you two were friends since you were kids?" He asks.

"Kind of," I say, trying not to look as if I am obviously lying. That was the story Damon and I went with; we have been friends for as long as we could remember. Only that could come close to a three decade of being partners in crime. "It's been a long time now."

"The way you speak about him, he almost sounds likable." Jamie chuckles.

"Almost?" I ask, raising an eyebrow. When the hell did Damon have the time to leave a bad impression?!

"He called me Blondie last night," Jamie tells me. Ah, I forgot about that. I chuckle, immediately feeling bad about it. "Thanks, by the way." Jamie laughs; thank God, the guy can take a joke.

"Damon has his moments," I agree, knowing I am downplaying it by a mile. "He's still a good guy. A dick, but a good guy deep down."

"Or maybe you're just a bad judge of character?" Jamie asks, smirking at me. I wasn't ready for this one.

"Wow," I laugh; not enough time for a decent comeback. Panic, panic, panic! "If that's the case, than this is going to end up being a huge mistake." I say, pointing between the two of us. I was a second too late for it to be perfect.

"Or a perfectly timed lapse in judgment?" He suggests, smiling at me. Good God, that smile!

"Let's wait and see." I smile, innocently sipping my beer. The flirt is on!

"Well, I think that…" Jamie starts, but is interrupted by the sound of my vibrating phone. He smiles, nodding his head, and I take that as a "please, do".

I was expecting Theo to start his rant in written form, but it was Stefan.

Damon killed Jeremy, but he has John's ring. He's still out, Elena's not good. Can you come over?

Not one afternoon. Not one normal afternoon.

"Crap…" I mumble, shaking my head. I can't leave them alone in this. And I don't really want to ditch Jamie. Something's gotta give. "I'm sorry, I have to go," I sigh with an apologetic smile. "It's a 911."

"No, it's okay," he shakes his head. "It was pretty random to begin with, right?"

"Well, yeah," I agree. Unless he was stalking me and walked into the Grill when he saw me do the same. Surprisingly enough, I don't think I would have a problem with that.

"How about a proper date, this time around?" he asks with that cute smile of his. Ah, so we're entering the date territory. "Tomorrow night?" he suggests. I almost agree, but then I remember something.

"I can't tomorrow," I shake my head. "I have to help out at the school carnival. Elena dragged me into it and I kind of am Ric's official unofficial assistant." I explain. I leave out the part where I have to be one of Elena's many bodyguards as her vampire double could decide to attack at any given second.

"I was going to invite you to the carnival." Jamie laughs.

"Okay, so you wanted to crash a high school event; are you in a mid-life crisis and I missed the signs?"

"Just say yes, for crying out loud!" He laughs, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Okay, fine," I sigh. It's not like it's going to be torturous. "Show up at the carnival and I'll do my best to escape chaperoning duties. Now, I really have to go." I say. I wanted to stop and give him a hug or a kiss on the cheek, but all of that seemed… a bit too much. So I just leave.

* * *

"Shh," I hear a noise as soon as I close the door. "They're all asleep. And Jenna's here too." I hear Stefan say in a whisper, from one of the rooms upstairs. It's a good thing I didn't simply barge in the house.

"Then come downstairs," I whisper, and in a matter of seconds, Stefan joins me and the two of us sit on the couch, the living room being almost completely dark. "What the hell happened?" I ask.

"Katherine happened," Stefan sighs, leaning back on the couch. "She got under his skin."

"Enough to kill Jeremy?"

"Elena claims he didn't see the ring," Stefan shakes his head. "I don't know what to think. I know I'd like to think that Damon wouldn't be capable of doing something like that."

"But we both know Damon's capable of doing a lot of things when he's hurt." I finish in his stead. Falling back on the couch, I sigh in defeat. I thought he grew up, even if the recent events warned me that was not the case. He's like a child. The only difference is, when a child has a tantrum, it doesn't kill someone.

"How did Elena handle all of it? Is she okay now? And what about Jeremy? Is he good?" I ask him.

"Damon broke his neck, but he healed quickly." Stefan tells me. I have a bad, bad feeling in my gut. To hear that Damon broke his neck? A kid's neck? And for what? For nothing?

This is Damon. When it comes to Damon, all is forgiven. All is forgiven, no matter what he does or who he hurts in the process. I can't help but wonder how long that will be the case.

We do what we are allowed. Why would he be responsible when no one expects him to be responsible?

"And Elena?" I ask.

"She hates him." Stefan mumbles.

"He did the one thing she could never forgive." I mumble, knowing I would kill Damon then and there, if he was to harm my brother in any way. "How do you do it?"

"How do I do what?" Stefan asks. I can't see his face in the darkness, but he sounds tired and worn out.

"How do you forgive him?" I whisper. For a moment, both of us were silent, looking away from each other. "Damon never did me wrong. The only reason that I ever tried to change him, in any way, was for his own good. And I've seen him progress. He takes ten steps in the right direction. Then something bad happens to him, and his reaction sets him back even further than the point he started from. It feels as if he's running in circles, and I'm chasing him, going in the same circle as he is. How do you do it?"

"You shouldn't be asking me that, Zoe," Stefan tells me, shaking his head. "You're doing a much better job than I ever did. Besides, you have a brother too."

That was it. Brotherly love, as an answer to all the world's troubles.

If I am the one that's chasing Damon faster than he is, I am afraid that we're in big trouble.

"Look, stay here," I tell him, having already made the decision that I'm not needed here. "Keep your girl safe. And keep a look out. I'm afraid Katherine might make a move." I warn him. He knows her better than I do. If anyone should be aware of the danger she brings, it's Stefan.

"And what will you do?" He asks me.

"I'm going to take care of your brother."

* * *

I tried to prepare a speech, to decide if I should act all tough or comfort him. Or maybe I should come up with a good punch line and make him forget about all the shit that went down? I tried to think of a way, but as always, I just ended up leaned on his door, bourbon in hand, ready to wing it, like I always do.

"You do know why I'm here?" I ask as I watch him, his back turned to me, looking through the window.

"I'm guessing Stefan informed you of my latest stupid move." he mumbles, still turned away from me.

"Yeah. But I'm not here because of it. Even if it was a stupid move. So, do you know why I'm here for?" I ask him, paying careful attention to not make him feel guilty. That was the last thing he needed now. And guilt can do magic tricks. I need to be mature and understanding.

"Knowing you, you're probably here to council me back to reality."

"Bingo," I smile, walking over to the bed. I climb on top of it, a bottle of bourbon still in hand. "So come on. Talk to me." I tell him. It's not an order if I use a soft voice.

"I let Katherine get to me." He admits as he finally turns around and decided to join me on the bed.

"Damon, we do what we're allowed to do," I smile at him, shaking my head. "A kid lies if his parents don't really bother to find out the truth. A teen breaks his curfew if he knows Mom and Dad won't check if they're sleeping. A guy will be late for work if he knows his boss won't hold it against him. We all do what we are allowed to do. It's human nature, nothing more than that. The only reason Katherine got to you is because she could. You let her do it."

"You make it sound as if I did it intentionally." He tells me, giving me a sulky, mean look.

"I wasn't trying to do that, sorry," I jump in. "Look, Katherine is someone who knows your weak points. That's just the way it is. We can't change the fact that Katherine knows you. We can't change you either. But we can change the way you react to her. She's not stronger than you. You shouldn't act like a wounded animal whenever she's around. You shouldn't act cocky either. She knows how to play the game. She knows exactly which string to move. But that doesn't mean you have to move along with her. Tonight, you made a big mistake. And I have a feeling you will have to pay for it for a long time. Let's just make sure something like that doesn't happen again. Okay?"

"I was lucky Jeremy had the ring on." He agrees.

"Yes, you were. But you didn't know about the ring, did you?" I ask him; I don't wait for the answer as I already know it. "What did Katherine do? What did she say? What caused that kind of reaction?"

"She came over. We kissed. And when I asked the question I wanted to ask for the last 150 years, she answered. It was always Stefan."

It breaks my heart, it really does. It breaks my heart, knowing he heard that tonight.

"Unrequited love is a part of life, Damon. It's a bitch, I know it. But it's the way it is. And you, better than anyone, should know that you can't exactly command your heart. I know it hurts. And I know it hits your weak spots, given that Stefan is your brother. I also know that you are stronger than that. Katherine made her choice. You spent the last 150 years hoping to get her back, and that's why it sucks. But she made her choice. And you? You have the rest of eternity to look for someone else," I add, smiling at him. He tries to smile back at me, with little success. "Elena made her choice too. And yes, it's Stefan. Again. Personally, I don't see it," I add, hoping to make him laugh, if only for a little while. Thankfully, it works. He chuckles and smirks at me. "There's a difference there. Elena made her choice without playing games. She's a good girl. And she loves Stefan. She saw the good in you too. I'm not sure what she'll see after tonight, but hopefully, she'll believe that it's still there. That's why she deserves better than for you to take it out on her. Don't take it out on her, D."

I don't know if Stefan wondered, but I did. Why was Damon at Elena's house to begin with? What triggered him like that? And do we really need to know that answer?

"I think she deserves a better guy than me, to tell you the truth."

"It's not about deserving. It's about choosing. And she made her choice. Believe me, my friend, there's nothing you can do about it. So instead of focusing on her or Katherine, why not focus on yourself?"

"You're being unfair, Zoe," he shakes his head at me. "You know it's easier said than done."

"Okay, buddy. Do you think I'm happy? Answer me that. Do you think I'm happy?" I ask him.

"You have no reason not to be." He shrugs.

"Just as I don't have a reason to be happy either," I correct him. "My life has been the same for the past 30 years. It's all the same. Same people, same me. I'm not happy. I'm okay. There's nothing wrong with being okay, just to make it clear. But it's hardly a thrilling adventure." I sigh. I used to be so much more fun. Hell, people who met me recently wouldn't even recognize me. I miss that old me, fun me. I miss being carefree. I guess that goes away when blood lust shows up.

"I'm sorry you're not happy, but where are you trying to go with this?" He asks me.

"I'm trying to say that it sucks, but that's life. It shouldn't change you. You are stronger than that. So, Katherine's still in love with Stefan? Big fucking deal! He is in love with Elena. Who looks exactly like her? You think you're in a bad situation? Look at Katherine and laugh. She played a game and it backfired. And Elena? She's a lovely girl. I like her, I consider her a friend. But imagine fighting the urge to kill her on a daily basis? Imagine the struggle you'd face. And, let's be honest, she's not exactly strong, is she? Do you see where I'm going with this?" I ask, grinning when I see that he's smiling at me.

"You're trying to make me laugh while putting others down. Nice." He says approvingly.

"In case you haven't notices, I pointed out that I like Elena," I correct him. "It has an upside and a downside. You're a person that will focus on the downside, being a selfish bastard." I feel relief when I hear laughter; it was reassuring. "That's why I'm here. I'll pull you by the sleeve in the right direction."

"Do I even have a choice but to follow it?"

"No, not really." I answer without even thinking, shaking my head at him.

"I used this as an excuse before, and I'm using it again," he warns me." You're not going to be here forever." He tells me, making me roll my eyes. It's official: We have a ship named "Make Zoe Stay", Damon is it's captain and it has officially sailed.

"Damon, if you think I'm leaving before Katherine leaves, you're an idiot," I tell him with a smile. "I'm not going anywhere until she waltzes out of here with the same elegance she had when she showed up. Although, I'd prefer to end her and just be done with it."

"You want to kill her?" he asks me in disbelief.

"What, you don't?" I ask, with a raised eyebrow. "It's not vengeance; it's common sense. You weren't interested in that part of the story, but Jess gave me a warning about doppelgängers, and I think it could be summed up in a sentence: Bad news and very dangerous. She's walking around, pretending to be Elena, kissing you and messing up your mind. Killing her would be the only smart move we could make."

"Zoe, you're underestimating her," he warns me." She's dangerous. She won't pick a way to get to us. I don't want you going after her. And killing her sounds a lot easier in theory." He tells me. I wonder if he wants to keep her alive. Looking at him now, I don't think he does. I don't think he has a personal vendetta either. He looks just as if he doesn't care at all. It makes no difference to him. I'd be happy about it, but it's a very sudden change. Sudden, yes, but is it solid?

"Damon, you and Stefan have history with her. You know her better than I ever will. But I'm a woman and so is she. There are things you could never understand." I tell him. I have zero info to support my theory, but I still somehow have it; Stefan and Damon in the same town it all went down in? Elena, her exact double dating Stefan? With her saying that to Damon, there's no doubt in my mind that her timing is not accidental at all. She's back for Stefan. If she loved Stefan like she claims she did… a love like that doesn't disappear. For a love like that, 150 years mean nothing, they change nothing. Time is not a problem. Elena is. Yeah, we need her dead. As soon as fucking possible.

"What, that you women have a big ass ego?" Damon asks, snapping me back to reality.

"No. We never forget our first love." I say. I did not think before I said; my words hurt Damon.

"Says the only girl I know that's never been in love." He mumbles.

"Huh, give it time," I say. Both Damon and I jump up to the noise from downstairs; the door opens and someone walks in. "I'll deal with this. Stay put!" I snap when I see Damon trying to get up to follow me. I run before he has a chance to join me.

"What are you doing here?" I ask Stefan when I notice him in the hallway." You should be with Elena."

"I wanted to talk to Damon." He tells me, giving me his serious look.

"Not tonight you won't." I warn him. He is taken aback by my response.

"Yeah, you're not going to stop me from talking to my brother." He tells me with a small smile.

"Do you want to try me?" I ask, dead serious. Once again, Stefan is taken aback. "You've seen me play nice, Stefan. I even took your side, more than once. Now I'm taking his side. And you won't talk to him."

"You're not going to stop me, Zoe. I really don't want to fight you right now." He brushes me off.

"Well, you are. Do not test me, Stefan. This night was bad enough, and trust me, we don't need another fight on our hands. Elena needs you more than he does. The last thing he needs right now is someone rubbing his mistakes in his face. Why don't you go, and help where your help is needed?"

"Now I see it," Stefan huffs." I've been wondering about it, ever since I met you. Now I see what kept the two of you close. You are more alike than you'd like to admit."

"If that was an insult, you're going to have to try better,." I snap at him. "And by the way, every second that you are here? It's a second more for Katherine to rip Elena to pieces. If I were you, I'd go back to her." I say, and even though I have 10 minutes worth of material to hit him with, I turn my back and I walk up the stairs. Even before I get a chance to close the door of Damon's room, I hear Stefan leave.

"Did you just kick my brother out of his own house?" Damon asks, as he leans back on the pillows.

"Yeah, I think I did." I say as I jump on the bed next to him.

"Now that's the Zoe I know and love."

I'm not sure if Zoe would agree with that.

* * *

I never had to deal with more drama in my entire life.

First, there was my brother attacking me from keeping the gravity of the Mystic Falls situation a secret from him. Then there was Katherine, who was lurking around, planning God knows what. Elena is still very much angry about the whole "Damon killed Jeremy" thing, and Damon is not in a good place. Stefan and I have only spoken 10 sentences in total since I kicked him out last night, and as if all of that wasn't enough, we had another mystery supernatural Lockwood, cruising around town.

Theo angry, Elena sulky, Damon obsessed with the Lockwood's, Katherine's all bitch and dangerous and Stefan with his signature frown; I could literally feel the rope around my neck growing tighter.

It culminated this morning, with 7 missed calls and 11 messages, even before my first cup of coffee.

"Does Elena always act like this?" I ask Stefan as he walks in, while frowning at the phone in front of me.

"Does she always act like a slaver when she's pretending she's leading a normal, human life? Yeah, apparently," he mumbles as he pours himself a cup of coffee. Since when Stefan does sassy?

"You're her boyfriend; you signed up for this willingly. I did not," I sigh, just as my phone vibrates again.

"If you can handle Damon, I'm sure you can handle Elena," he mumbles.

"Yeah, if I can handle your weak jabs, I can handle anything, right?" I ask. He turns around, giving me a look. "I told you. I can play nice. I'm good at it. But if you're going to be passive aggressive towards me, you can bet your ass I'll be passive aggressive right back at you,"

"I'm not being passive aggressive," Stefan shakes his head.

"I hate to break it to you, but you are," I announce and I chug down the rest of my coffee before slamming it on the table, with just a bit too much force. "When you decide to stop it, let me know. I'll go back to nice Zoe then. And until you do, if you'll excuse me, I have a carnival to prepare while I pretend to have fun."

I also have a date to get ready for. A date, while I haven't had a proper date in over 30 years. What do these kids where anyways? Do I go for a dress or do I go for a Daisy Duke kind of look?

No, neither. I'm going as me. Well, as Zoe Cooper with a limited wardrobe; I seriously need to go shopping, if I'm not going to ship my entire closet to Mystic Falls. Especially since by the looks of it, I won't be leaving this place anytime soon.

Limited wardrobe Zoe was simple: I went right back to the 90's, with slightly ripped jeans, a tank top and a proper grunge, blue and green flannel shirt. I do bother enough to put on a bit of make-up, but that's it; me in my finest human imitation. One would think I really was a regular 21-year-old.

* * *

I am over the place. We all are all over the place. She gave her best effort, she really did, but Elena was hardly the world's best party planner; the Ferris wheel stopped and I had to call a repair man. As soon as he promised me he'd be there in 10 minutes, I had to bring two bags of fluffy teddy bears and other animals to the ring toss.

"Elena, get off my case, I'm on it!" I yell as I run down the hallway, seeing her open her mouth to say something. She gawks at me like a very surprised goldfish.

"You don't even know what I was going to say!"

"Whatever it is, I'm on it!" I yell back as I march down the hallway. It's frustrating being unable to use my normal speed; all of Elena's carnival issues would be over in less than 10 minutes. But no, I have to keep up my act, pretend to be human.

I find the back exit soon enough, and the moment the door closes, I lean on it, getting out a pack of cigarettes out of my back pocket. I'll go right back to carnival duty; I just need once cigarette.

"Running from Elena?" I smile as I hear the voice seconds after I heard the footsteps.

"Yeah, what's your excuse?" I ask, smiling. Jeremy laughs as he walks over and leans on the wall to my right. "How are you feeling after all that's happened?" I ask him, as I never really got a chance to talk to him after the night we found him half dead. To be fair, I never even met the kid before that.

"Do you mean how I'm dealing with a dead vampire girlfriend, or with being killed and brought back to life?" he asks and I hold back my laugh. Elena sure didn't inherit the same ability to fight back with irony.

"I'm not sure, which happened first?" I ask, making him laugh.

"Can I have one?" He asks, and I turn around to give him a look. In my eyes, he's practically a baby. A cute and fairly buffed up baby, but a baby nonetheless. I was his age when flared jeans were still cool.

"What are you like, 14?"

"16," he corrects me. "What, you didn't smoke when you were 16?" he asks. I wish I could say that I didn't and that back in the day, I was a good little girl, but that wouldn't be the truth. Jeremy played a good card; it was a lucky guess.

"Point taken," I mumble as I pull out the pack again, giving him one and throwing him the lighter. "So? How are you? About the whole, being brought back to life, thing," I elaborate.

"I feel the same," he shrugs. "I'm not in pain or anything. I remember Damon breaking my neck, though. But no, no light at the end of the tunnel, or some shit like that. It's all black," he tells me.

"Damn. I was hoping for puppies and kittens and endless supplies of Skittles," I laugh. "And what about the other part? Dead vampire girlfriend?" I ask.

"I miss her. She didn't treat me like a kid. She actually cared about me," he shrugs.

"She didn't treat you like a kid, but compared to her, you were one," I tell him." I told you this. She did not warn you about the bad sides. Plus, I know boys like an older woman, but talk about a difference,"

"Too soon," he warns me, even though he was still laughing. "How old are you?" he asks.

"50," I tell him, earning a wide eyed look." I know, right? I don't look a day over 45."

"I like you," he smiles, and this time, he earns a wide eyed look from me. Suddenly, he jumps up. "No! Not like that! No, I didn't mean it like that either! I mean, you're hot, but… You are, you really are. I'd love to, but you're like old and a vampire…"

"Jeremy, shut up before you say something even more embarrassing," I laugh and thankfully, so does he. He's still pretty red, though. "I understand what you said. I regret to inform you, but I have a date today and I kind of like my men older. Maybe in a couple of years?" I joke.

"You're going to tease me about this forever, aren't you?"

"You bet," I laugh. Who would have thought? Elena's baby brother ended up being better company than most of them here. "If it makes you feel any better, if I was just a bit younger, I'd jump your bones," I laugh even harder when I see him turn an even darker shade of red.

"Stop. Please," he begs me.

"Oh, never," I laugh. "I have to go back there, your sister needs me," I announce as I throw the rest of my cigarette down and I step on it. "One more thing: Anna wasn't the only one that cared for you. Elena loves you, and so does Jenna. Stefan cares for you too. And even if he killed you, I'm pretty sure Damon has a soft spot for you too. If you tell him I said that, I'll kill you too. Even if I do like you," I add.

"Thanks. For the pep talk and the cigarette," he smiles at me.

"Anytime."

* * *

"Flirting with Baby Gilbert? Nice," Damon says approvingly as I stand next to him; a crowd of students in front of us was gathered around a table, where they were having an arm-wrestling championship.

"How the hell did you hear that? And it wasn't flirting," I correct him. I realize why the crowd was cheering now so hard; Stefan was about to arm wrestle someone, someone I've never seen before. "Wow, looking good," I mumble, staring at the guy. He looked to be in his late twenties. Just looking over him, I could see that he was quite a big guy; buff and muscular. And his smile was pretty cure too.

"And now you like Stefan? Zoe, what the hell is wrong with you?" Damon mumbles in disgust.

"I was talking about the other one, you idiot," I say as I watch Stefan and the cute guy start their battle.

"That's the mystery Lockwood," Damon tells me, and I nod; of course he was.

"I don't know about mysteries and family secret, but he's one hot guy," I mumble. It's been a while.

"Keep it in your pants, Cooper," Damon warns me. "Didn't you say you have a date?"

"I do," I smile, trying hard to fight the nerves that were slowly taking over me.

"Who's the lucky guy?" Damon asks, looking as he'll burst out laughing any second now.

"Go to hell, Damon," I give him the most innocent of smiles; the crowd starts cheering, and when I look around, I see that mystery Lockwood defeated Stefan. "Well, I'll

* * *

"If I get this, we're going out tomorrow," Jamie wiggles his eyebrows at me and I roll my eyes.

"And if I get the same thing, I'm not going anywhere unless I want to?" I suggest.

"Deal," he agrees. With a bit too much confidence, he throws the ball and sure enough, he hits all the bottles. I smile, even giving clapping my hands a few times. "Your turn, Milady," he jokes. I roll my eyes as we change places; with literally no effort at all, I hit the other set of bottles; they all fall down.

"Not bad for a Milady, huh?" I wink, before turning to the student in charge of the whole thing. "How about a pink teddy bear for this handsome gentlemen?" I say, hearing Jamie laugh behind me.

"I'm more interested in the dinner part," he says, standing too close to me; I turn around.

"Nope," I grin as I hand him the teddy bear. "Not tomorrow."

"Alright. How about tonight, when all of this is over?" He smiles down at me; literally down at me, as I had to look up, as if I was staring at a skyscraper. "A bottle of wine and pizza at my place?" He suggests.

"Deal," I nod, mentally crossing my fingers that it won't just stop at a drink and take out.

"Perfect. Now, let's see what else you could beat me at," he smiles as he offers me his hand, tucking away the teddy bear under his arm. Oh, why the hell not? I take his hand as we walk away.

"If I'm being honest, I'm only agreeing to it because I want to see some embarrassing childhood photos," I joke.

"And here I was hoping you wanted to use me," he says, faking disappointment. Man, he's good.

"Hey, I haven't ruled anything out," I shrug, smirking at him; I'm good too.

Before he has a chance to say anything to that, I feel a tap on my shoulder. I turn around, only to see Elena, followed by Damon.

"Now what?" I sigh. Don't I get some time to be alone with my unnaturally hot date?

"We have a problem," she tells me.

"What's new?"

"A big problem!" Damon growls. Okay, supernatural problem. I get it. Never a dull fucking moment.

"Give me a second here," I say, as we were completely ignoring Jamie's presence. Elena and Damon walk away; I know Damon could hear me, but I don't really care; I turn around to face a very confused Jamie. "I'm sorry. I'm needed here. Can we make a rain check?" I suggest.

"Sure," he nods. "Look, I'll leave now. 2007, Oak Street. If you have time," he tells me.

This guy either really likes me, or his life is really boring. Either way, works well for me.

"Yeah, sure," I smile. "If not, I have your number now," I add and he nods before letting go of my hand. As soon as he walks away, I turn and march to Elena and Damon, feeling extremely pissed off.

"Why? Just… why?"

"Caroline's a vampire," Damon tells me in a low voice. Instantly, I look at Elena, hoping for a denial. What I saw was confirmation.

* * *

I still remember my transition, as clear as day.

First, there was acceptance. I knew it was either death or this.

Then, there was confusion. How does it actually work? Will I be able to control it? What if I can't? What if I hurt someone? What if I hurt Theo? What if I am not capable enough to be a vampire? Then what?

After confusion, came worry. Theo will not be safe with me. No one will be safe with me! I'm going to kill everyone I ever loved. I will fail. I can't do this. I can't. Then anger showed up. Why me? Why this? Is this the only option? I deserve better than this. I deserve to live a happy, normal life, and not to choose between dying and being a bloodsucking monster.

Once that little roller-coaster was over and done with, I finally reached hope. A slim hope and one that wasn't easily reachable, but it was still hope.

And I had preparation and Damon's helping hand. Caroline? She's alone. I had a choice. She did not. She must be out of her mind, completely. And of course, there is Katherine.

Katherine wanted to send a message, and boy, was it received. Just last night, I told Damon that killing Katherine would be common sense. Now I know I'll do just that, the first chance I get.

That chick needs to go down.

"We need to find her," I speak up, for the first time since Damon gathered Stefan, Elena and me in Ric's classroom. I feel all three of them looking at me as I keep my back turned to them, looking out the window. "She's out of her mind. It doesn't matter if Damon's compulsion is wearing off or not; either way, she must be going crazy, freaked out by it all. We need to find her," I say, finally turning around.

I had some control when I turned. I also had Damon to stop me if I needed to be stopped. And the only human in front of me was the one person I wanted to protect at all costs. I had control because I did not have a different option. Caroline doesn't have that luxury. She needs help and she needs it fast.

"Yeah, we need to find her and we need to kill her!" Damon snaps. I wish I was surprised by his response, but I'm not. Just because he was once willing to hold my hand and guide me through my transition, doesn't mean he'd be willing to do that again for someone else.

"You're not going to kill Caroline," Elena tells him. One more thing that failed to surprises me.

"She knows who we are," Damon shrugs. "She's officially a liability. We have to get rid of her,"

She is a liability, I'll give him that. She's weak and not in control of her emotions, or her actions. But we can't just go around killing people, or vampires, when things don't go our way.

And this is Caroline. Someone completely innocent, who should never have been dragged into it.

"Absolutely not," Stefan jumps in, before I have a chance to; that's the only good thing about this. Elena and Stefan are thinking in the same direction I am; if it comes down to it, it'll be three against one.

"Need I remind you of a tragic little story of a girl named Vicki Donovan?" Damon asks, and this time, I'm out of the loop; I imagine it happened before I showed up. I have a feeling Damon's to blame for that." I guarantee you, Caroline, of all people, could never make it as a vampire. Her mother's a vampire hunter. We all know how this story ends," he whines at us." Let's just skip to the last chapter and…"

"Damon, you're not killing her," I tell him, shaking my head. She's a lost girl, who has no idea what's going on; even if she knows the logistics, she's on a rollercoaster of emotions, and that's never a good feeling. I won't let him kill her before she even tries to survive this.

"It's not an option, Damon," Elena agrees with me.

"No?" Damon asks, smirking." You're silence is deafening, Stefan," he tells his brother; I look over at Stefan, to see him looking away from all three of us. He's considering it. He doesn't have to say it out loud, and because of Elena, he probably won't, but I can see it on his face. "Wait, wasn't there a school carnival the night you staked Vicki? Talk about a town where history repeats itself. You know I'm right," Damon says, looking directly at me, and then at his brother. I sigh as Stefan walks over to him.

"We're not gonna kill her," he tells Damon, before walking out of the classroom; Elena follows him at once, and Damon and I stay. Damon gives me a look, and I shake my head and shrug at the same time.

"I'm with Grumpy Pants on this one. She deserves a chance," I tell him. I could stay here for a solid hour and explain my reasoning to him, but I have better things to do. We have to find Caroline, fast.

* * *

We split up; Elena and Stefan go to the right and I go to the left. As I walk through the crowd, I focus on my senses, specifically my hearing. I looked around for Caroline as shoulders kept slamming in me. I couldn't see her, and so far, I couldn't hear anything other than the regular commotion.

"Zoe!" I hear someone yell, and when I turn around, I see Bonnie running towards me, smiling. "Have you seen Elena? She left me in charge of everything and just disappeared?" She asks me.

"No, last I saw her, she was with Stefan," I brush it off. "Have you seen Caroline? It's urgent," I tell her.

"Caroline's in the hospital," Bonnie tells me, looking confused; I knew she was there; I was at the hospital with them that night. "Was she released already?" Bonnie asks. I made a mistake. The last thing we needed in the mix was a witch, even if she is Caroline's friend.

"Yeah, well, vampire blood? It does wonders," I smile, hoping that would be enough to fool her. "I gotta go, there's a lot to do!" I yell as I walk away; no, I run away. I didn't want to give her enough time to realize that I'm being off and that something's going on. I search the whole school and nothing.

I go through the crowd again, trying to zone out the noise and the voices, the laughter and the cheers.

I was walking towards the door when I heard it; I was too far away before, but now I could hear cries and commotion. I run, focused to keep my speed human. As soon as I reach the door, it opens, and two people run directly into me; Stefan and Caroline. And Caroline had blood all over her face.

"Come on," I mumble, grabbing her by the hand. Together, Stefan and I keep her away from the crowd as the three of us make our way to an empty hallway; to the first bathroom we find. I slam the door behind us and lock it, while Stefan is trying to calm Caroline down.

"You too?" Caroline asks, looking at me in shock. I just nod my head as I frantically grab some paper and rush to help Stefan clean her up, trying to keep my movements gentle as I clean her face from the blood.

"She hates me," Caroline cries. "Bonnie hates me."

I change with Stefan; he tries to clean her up while I'm getting more paper ready. All I could think of was that Bonnie obviously found out, if Caroline claims that she hates her. Witches can be our live savers, but they can be one judgy bunch.

"No, no, no," Stefan frantically calms her down as she cries. "She's just in shock; we all are,"

"And what about Matt? What am I going to do about Matt?"

"Caroline, calm down," I say, trying to sound more soothing than Stefan did; we change places and I try to help her clean her face. "You can't deal with all of it at once. You need to calm down and we need to clean this blood off. Your emotions are heightened right now; you need to calm down. This all is completely normal; it's a part of the tradition. We've all gone through it. It'll be fine,"

"Why does this keep happening to my face?!" She yells as she turns around from the mirror; she hides her face in her hands, but I don't need to see her to know what she's talking about.

"Caroline, calm down! Look at me! Caroline! Caroline look at me!" I snap and finally, she looks up. I take a deep breath and I let my true nature take over me. I hit Stefan on the chest, and when I look at him, I could see he realized the message I was trying to send. Both of us let the vampire in us take over. "Look at my face, Caroline," I instruct her, as I go back to my human face.

"You see? You can do it. You just need to focus. No matter how good it feels, you have to fight it. If I can do it, you can do it too. You need to tell yourself that you can get through it. That's the only way you're going to survive this. Watch me. Come on, deep breaths," I instruct her, and the two of us take deep breaths. Slowly, she gains control and her face is normal again. Not knowing what else I can do, I pull her in for a hug.

We barely even spoke before all of this happened. And here I am, hugging her, helping her through this.

"Why did Katherine do this to me?" she asks me. I look away to Stefan; this is not a question for me.

"We don't know. I don't know. I wish I did," Stefan mumbles as he approaches us and pulls Caroline in for a hug. As he calms her down some more, I wash my hands and the blood from the sink. "I promise you, I won't let anything happen to you. And neither will Zoe," he tells her.

"I'll take care of her," I tell him, turning around to the two of them. "I'll take her home, I'll help her. You need to keep an eye on Elena and Damon," I tell him.

"Yeah, you're right. I'll come over to check on you, okay?" he asks Caroline and I sigh.

"No, you won't," I tell him and he looks at me, wide eyed. "Stop trying to be the ultimate hero. You can't play on all fronts. So why don't you go to your girlfriend and your brother? Unlike you, I can actually focus on her and help her get through it. So why not just leave Caroline to me? We both know I'm a bit better in the control department anyways," I add. I did not realize how mean I sounded, not until it was too late for me to take it back. I wasn't lying; frankly, out of the three of us, Damon, Stefan and me, he is the last one that should help a newly turned vampire. The problem is, I didn't really choose my words.

I felt bad, because I could clearly see that he was angry with me. It's kind of hard to miss, when he slams the door as he leaves the bathroom.

"You're really angry at him," Caroline says in a low voice. I smile at her as I shake my head.

"Actually, I'm not. I'm mean lately. I don't know why. Come on; we need to clean you up and get you home. And I suppose I'll have to teach you a little bit about what it's like to be a vampire,"

* * *

The first step approached soon enough, when she marched into her house, while I was still standing on the porch. It took her a few seconds to realize that I didn't follow her inside. I smile at her confusion.

"Huh. It's time for lesson number one," I announce as I lean against the doorway, smiling at a very confused Caroline. "When you're a vampire, you have to be officially invited into someone's house. If a human's name is on the owner's list, you have to be invited in. So, basically, I can't come in," I explain.

"So, you can't walk in? Is it like a moral thing…?" she asks and I start laughing.

"No, it's not. It's as if the air is thick in the doorway. Imagine it like an invisible force stopping me,"

"How was I able to walk in?" she asks.

"It's your house, isn't it?" I ask with a shrug. "You either have to tell me to come in or to go all formal and ask me if I'd like to come in. "Come, Don't just stand there, Walk with me" doesn't cut it,"

"Okay. In that case, Zoe, please come inside," she tells me and I walk into her house. "Now, what's lesson number two?" She asks.

"Lesson number two is patience. I don't want to throw it all on you. You need some rest, and we'll go over the details tomorrow," I tell her as I follow her around the house, all the way to her room.

"But what if I… you know, get hungry? What do I do then?" she asks me." My mom lives here too,"

"If that happens, you call me. Me or Stefan. Not Damon or Elena, you got it?" I warn her and she nods her head. "Damon would probably show up with a stake, and Elena is very much human. So, if you feel as if you're about to lose it, don't wait until the last moment. As soon as you feel it, call me. Either me or Stefan. And we'll show up. Just in case, I'll leave this with you," I say as I take out a blood bag out of my bag. Caroline's eyes go to it. I watch as she takes a deep breath, and in a few seconds, she's calm; she doesn't go all vampire on me. "Nice work. I want you to try not to touch it. I'll be here first thing in the morning. It's a Saturday, you don't have school, and we'll have two days to figure it out," I tell her.

"Will Stefan come too?" she asks. I shrug. He'd probably want to be a part of it, but I'm not sure if he'd be interested in spending quality time with me. I couldn't blame him if he decides to avoid me.

"If you ask him, I'm sure he'll help," I tell her. "Look, you've had a long day and you need some rest,"

"Thank you," she tells me with a small smile. "For everything. And thank you in advance, for tomorrow."

"Don't mention it. You'll get through this. You'll survive. And if Damon tries to do something, I'll slap him. I've been looking for an excuse to do it, and if he touches you, I'll have one," I grin.

"I never knew about you," Caroline shakes her head at me. "I never guessed. Damon's compulsion… I was not under it when you showed up. But you keep it hidden so well. How?" she asks.

"30 years of practice," I shrug. "Now, stop it with the questions. You need rest. Go, take a shower. I'll be here until you fall asleep," I tell her as I make myself comfortable on the floor and lean on her bed.

"You don't have to do that, Zoe…"

"Go!" I order her with a smile and finally, she listens to me.

I play muted Candy Crush on my phone as I wait for her to fall asleep.

I could stay here the whole night, and on some level, that would probably be a smart move. She'd know that she's not alone. Just as she would know that I don't trust her enough to leave her on her own. It would be as if I was giving her a confirmation of my lack of trust.

No, she needs to do it on her own. She doesn't need a baby sitter. And I have somewhere else to go.

* * *

2007, Oak Street. My leg was jumping so fast, not even a cigarette was helping me. I knew that if I go through with this, it won't just be a dinner and a glass of wine. I knew that if I go through with this, there's no going back.

He's human, but that doesn't mean he's not what I need at the moment. I like the guy. Not just his looks, but his whole personality too. And I need to forget about a lot of things.

I throw my cigarette out and I slam the car door behind me; I knock on his door, ignoring the fact that it is 1 AM and that he probably stopped expecting me to show up a few hours ago.

"Zoe?" he asks in surprise when he opens the door; he doesn't look sleepy at all.

"Sorry, am I bothering you?" I ask.

"No, I was just writing," he smiles. "I'm glad you showed up after all. Come on in," he says, opening his door completely.

The invitation was the only thing that was stopping me from marching in there. Now that that was checked of the list, I had absolutely nothing else stopping me from finally kissing him.

Except maybe his height. But that one was easily solved when I pulled him by the shirt.

I'm not sure if he was expecting it or not, but he sure as didn't have any complaints and I wanted to do this since the moment I saw him.


	12. In Search Of Bugs Bunny

**Here's a new one guys.**

 **Let me know what you think, pretty please.  
Do you like Zoe so far? What do you think about this Jamie guy? :D  
Who do you see as end game? Come on! Me needs some theories! :D**

 **Anyways, I hope you enjoy it. I'll have a new one up for you soon!**

Waking up in an unfamiliar bed never gets old.

It takes me a moment to realize where I am and how I ended up here, simply because I feel hungry. I feel both kinds of hunger; blood and human food to mask it away. And why is that? Well, because I have spent the night with a human, risking his life and possibly even my own.

The problem is that there is more. I don't know if it's hunger for a touch, a hunger for good sex or just hunger for him, but it's hunger alright. And I am starving.

Is it bad? Yes, probably. Is it stupid? Yes, without a doubt. Was last night one of the best nights of my life? Yes, it definitely was. It was good enough to push my worries away. The memories of last night, together with the smell of pancakes is enough to get me to roll out of the bed and throw over myself the first thing I find; his shirt, as I make my way towards the kitchen. Jamie looks just as good as he did last night, if not better.

The place doesn't look like a typical bachelor pad but, with light colors, lots of windows and no leather furniture; it looks like a normal house of a normal person, not a typical bachelor. Then again, Jaime is not a typical bachelor. A typical bachelor does not make pancakes for his one night stand, does he?

"And he can cook too." I sigh, leaning on the kitchen counter; Jamie jumps up in surprise but gives me a big smile. "Is there anything else you should warn me about?"

"I always separate my whites from colors when I do laundry." he states proudly.

"My ovaries exploded." I say, pretending to be impressed as he laughs along. "I'd love to stay for breakfast, but I'm afraid I have to be somewhere." I sheepishly add. I was able to forget about it for one night, but that didn't make my problems disappear. Katherine is still around, doing God knows what and Caroline needs my help.

"This early?" Jamie asks. I turn around, looking for a clock; I find one, on the microwave. It's 8 AM.

"No, not this early." I shake my head; after the night she had, Caroline will probably need a good sleep. "But I have to get back to the house, take a shower and all that stupid, boring stuff."

"I have a shower," Jamie shrugs. "I'll find a shirt for you to wear. You really don't have to run out of here in the same speed you ran in," he smiles. Well, it's good to know he won't beat around the bush.

"Are you sure that's a good idea? I'm good at running." I joke, hoping to defuse the tension.

"Oh, I know you are," he chuckles. "But why not stay? What's stopping you?" he asks.

The desire to sink my teeth into his neck? The crazy vampire life I'm leading? My inborn fear of commitment? The list goes on and on…

"Okay, I'll try to keep it simple here," I sigh, trying to find the right words. "I don't do relationships. I don't do one night stands either. I don't do anything. So this is all very awkward and new to me. And while the sex was… outstanding," I say, seeing a hint of a smirk forming on his face. "And while I genuinely enjoy spending time with you, I don't know what I want. And I don't know how to do it."

"I'm not asking you for your hand in marriage," Jamie laughs, putting the pan away in the sink before walking towards me. He holds me by the shoulders, crouching down a little bit, so that it doesn't look as if he's talking down at me. "I'm not asking you for occasional sex either. Believe it or not, you're not the only one who doesn't know what she wants. I just know that I like you. As simple as that."

Yeah, to him it is. Not to me! But he's so hot. And funny. And nice. And he makes pancakes.

"Alright, I'll have the pancakes. I'll stay for a while longer. Only if you take that shower with me."

"That sounds like a deal I could commit to." He grins before leaning down to kiss me.

…

Elena called to invite me to a trip to Duke with her, Alaric and Damon. Knowing I would rather walk on legos barefoot, I used Caroline as my excuse to stay. The timing was perfect, as Stefan texted me to come to Caroline's, since Bonnie's making her a daylight ring. Wearing Jamie's white T shirt, I drive to Caroline's house, while informing Theo and Jess about the developments in our vampire issue.

"Zo, we checked it all," Jess's voice blasts through the speakers. "I read the books, I talked to Mom. I even googled it. Whatever the Lockwood's are, we are not familiar with it."

"Do you think it's possible that someone else knows something? I mean, I know your Mom would tell us if she knew something, but what if this is some kind of witchy business that should be kept a secret?" I ask her. I'm not the one for conspiracy theories, but this whole thing reminded me of one.

"You think that whatever it is that they are, it might be a witch's fault?" Jess asks me.

"Why wouldn't it be? I mean, after all, I am a witches fault too, right?"

"That's a valid possibility. There's just one thing; we really don't do that. I told you, there had to be a witch involved, but it was some nasty business. No one I know would dare and meddle with nature in such a way. Doing it with the Lockwood's would be exactly the same." Jess tells me.

"Who's to say someone meddled with it now?" Theo asks. "No one meddled with Zoe, and she's a freak of nature," he tells his girlfriend; nice words, bro. "Someone did it in the past. Who's to say the same thing's not happening with this family? I mean, all three of us have been around long enough to know that even if something's impossible, it's still pretty darn possible."

"Zoe, are you sure he's not a warlock?" Jess asks me, for what has to be the thousand time.

"I told you, I'm pretty sure he's not. Look, that's not even the biggest issue we have. We'll see today what Damon, Elena and Ric find out from Isobel's research at Duke."

"Who's Isobel again?" Theo asks. For a moment, I think he's joking. He's not.

"Isobel is Elena's biological mother, who is related to Katherine. She was also working with John, Elena's uncle, who's actually her biological father. Isobel was married to Ric, who's our friend and the town's history teacher, and he has a thing with Jenna, Elena's aunt and guardian." I explain to him.

"I think my brain just got fried."

"Imagine what I'm going through. Look, the Lockwood's are the least of my worries now, even though they're the top of Damon's. I'm more worried about the baby vampire who Katherine turned, for no good reason, whatsoever."

"I still don't understand why she would do that." Jess sighs

"Because she can, that's why. She found out Caroline had Damon's blood in her system. That was enough. She's playing us. My guess is that she wants to get back at Damon or Stefan. Probably Stefan."

"What are you going to do now? Do you need our help?" Theo asks me; I can hear the worry in his voice.

"I think we can handle it. If I start to get worried, you'll be the first who know. Right now, I have to teach Caroline how to be a vampire. That and how deep will I stick a stake into Katherine's heart. But, you know, Caroline's a priority."

"Zoe, don't try to kill her. It won't end well." Jess warns me, but I roll my eyes.

I know just how bad it could end, I'm not stupid. I can be impulsive at times, and yes, because of certain people, I do tend to make the wrong choices. That being said, I also know how to be a manipulative, SOB when I have to. And if I'm going to have to be just that in order to get to Katherine, I'll be it.

"I'm not going to charge at her, stake in hand, like Mel Gibson in 'Brave Heart'. We don't know where she is, or what she'll do next. She doesn't even know who I am. I can't afford to focus on her. Damon can pick his little Lockwood mission over everything else but that's not my focus either. Caroline needs my help. She's my main focus. As soon as I know she won't start randomly killing people, I'll be ready to move on to the next problem." I say as I turn into Caroline's street. "Guys, I have to go. I'll call you."

"Be careful!" Jess yells out as I hang up on her.

As I park the car, I see Bonnie walking out of the house. I smile at her as I slam the door of my car. "Hi Bonnie!" I say as she gives me a stiff smile and just walks away. "Bye Bonnie." I mumble. A nervous witch is not someone I want to be dealing with. Plus, I have a feeling her anger is not really directed towards me. And as I pointed out to Jess and Theo, Caroline's a priority.

Caroline is in her room, with Stefan. She looks pretty good. Stefan looks away from me; I took Damon's side, and apparently, that's not something Stefan is happy with. I'm fully aware that I may have been a bit too harsh. If he was to talk to Damon that night, I don't even want to imagine how that conversation would have ended. Both of them needed to go into corners and think about what they've done. If I had to be the mean girl in order to keep them from fighting, I was happy to be a mean girl.

"How are you feeling?" I ask Caroline.

"I think I'm okay," she nods. "I mean, it's not good. But I think I have it under control. I did not touch the blood you left me. I couldn't stop thinking about it, but I did not touch it." she says. I wish she sounded more proud of herself. I guess her pride was clouded by her not wanting to be a vampire to begin with.

"That sentence can pretty much cover our entire existence. _I couldn't stop thinking about it, but I did not touch it_ ," I tell her, hoping my joke would light the mood up. Caroline has a worried look on her face, but at least Stefan chuckls. I suppose you need a little bit of experience to find that joke funny.

"So, what are we going to do now?" Caroline asks, looking between me and Stefan.

"Well, if you're going to try and have a normal life…" Stefan starts, and I could see that he's choosing his words carefully. "I think it would be best for you to stay away from human blood. At least for now."

"How can I stay away from human blood if I need human blood to survive?" Caroline asks him.

"There's an alternative," I sigh and she looks at me, waiting for an explanation. "Have you read 'Twilight'?" I ask sheepishly, feeling Stefan's look, sending daggers my way. At least it works; Caroline nods. "Well, it's kind of like that. Stefan drinks animal blood. And as you can see, he's alive and well."

"And what about you? What blood do you drink?" she asks.

"I stick to blood bags. But I have decades of experience, Caroline. I know how to be around people and fight the urge to kill them. I'm sure you'll get a hang of it too, and when you do, go for blood bags, by all means. But Stefan's diet is a good start. Imagine human blood as your favorite food. And imagine animal blood as something you don't love, but you're okay with it, and it's good for you. Try this one first."

"So, I will have to hunt poor, defenseless bunnies?" she asks, looking at Stefan this time.

"Would you rather hunt poor, defenseless humans?" Stefan asks her.

"Point taken," she nods her head, not looking too happy about it. "So? We're going to hunt now?"

"Yes," Stefan agrees." Zoe, will you join us?" he asks me. I don't really like animal blood and I prefer to avoid it. But I suppose Caroline needs support now.

"Yeah, I'll go. I won't drink it, though. I'll just… be your cheerleader." I grin, hoping that my reluctance to drink animal blood won't transfer to Caroline. She agrees, nodding her head, but she doesn't seem too happy about it. I wouldn't call this a good start, but it's still better than the alternative.

…

I wait for Stefan and Caroline to return from their little hunt. My disgusted face would not be a pat on Caroline's back. I stayed behind where I parked my car, and I wait for them to return. They didn't walk too far away from me, so I can hear their conversation, and every now and then, I chuckle.

Caroline is a real character. As Stefan pointed out to her, all of that got magnified. Keeping her humanity with hunting animals and not humans is just one step she'll take towards her goal. She also needs to control her personality. Controlling my personality was a challenge for me, even if I wasn't acting as a common vampire. Damon couldn't believe it; he was absolutely sure he'll have to drag me away from Theo and his jugular, since we were all stupid enough to be in the same place as I was in transition.

I remember that feeling, that indescribable hunger. But he's my baby brother. I was strong enough to ask for a blood bag, and to keep myself away from Theo. It's easy to be strong when the alternative is hurting the person you love the most in this world. God, I was so young back then. I had no idea what was in store for me. Hell, I'm older now and I still have no idea what's in store for me. Ever since I arrived to Mystic Falls, it's been BANG – BANG – BANG, one problem after the other. All of us are swimming in this deep ocean of problems.

And like all of that wasn't enough, what do I do? I get involved with a human.

I can't call Jamie a relationship when that's not what it is. It's not a one night stand either. Since I turned, I did my best to avoid humans. I never thought that I could have… something with one of them. Hell, I was the one that pointed out the dangers of dating a vampire to Elena. And what do I do after that? I get involved with a human. Sometimes you just get a feeling that something isn't going to end well. And you still go through with it.

"Hey," I hear Caroline's voice and I jump up; I have been lying down on the hood of my car and for the last few minutes, I didn't pay any attention to them and my surroundings. "Are you okay?" Caroline asks me, sounding a bit worried. I imagine my eyes were still wetter than usual.

"Yeah," I reassure her, smiling brightly. "How did the hunt go? Any Bugs Bunnies in the area?"

"Plenty," she responds, looking at me in annoyance. "We're going to a party now," she adds, looking much more cheerful about it than she did when talking about the hunt.

"A party?" I ask, and this time, I look at Stefan. He gives me a shrug; as if he had no choice but to agree with it. "I'm not sure which one I should ask, so just in case, it goes to the both of you. Are you crazy?"

"I miss Matt!" Caroline whines, as if her missing Matt should be an answer to everything.

"He is the strongest connection to her humanity," Stefan explains. While I know that too, I did not think it's something we should risk. "We're going to the swimming hole," he shrugs. The phrase 'swimming hole' brings another set of questions to my mind.

"Okay. But I will follow you like a hawk!" I warn Caroline. Just because I agree with this doesn't mean I think it's a good idea. It's too soon for her to go into a bunch of hormonal teenagers; the last time she did it was just last night, and it ended with a pissed off Bonnie, a nervous breakdown and a body Damon needed to bury.

"That's sounds great to me!" Caroline agrees, finally going back to the cheerful Caroline I met before all of this mess fell on her. Maybe this isn't the worst idea ever, after all.

…

If someone had asked me where's the last place I'd want to be at, I'm pretty sure my answer would be 'a high school party'. Though I have to say, this party already seems much different than the ones I have attended, back in my day. I shouldn't be surprised by that, seeing as it had been more than 30 years since my last high school party. Fun or not, I do not want to be here. I'm way too old for this shit.

At least Caroline has been doing well so far. If we ignore the fact that she had used compulsion on a girl that was flirting with Matt. Other than that, she's doing well. And the only other interesting thing that had happened since we've got her was the appearance of the Mystery Lockwood. He was out of here before I got a chance to get suspicious. As for Damon, Elena, Ric and their merry little trip, no one bothered to fill us in on the new discoveries, leading me to believe that there are new discoveries.

I can't worry about that; that's their thing. My only job is to keep an eye on Caroline and I can do that just fine from here, sitting on a comfy rock and away from the kids, with a bottle of beer in my hand.

"I suppose I'm not the only one that feels a bit too old for this," Stefan sighs as he sits down on the ground next to me; unlike me, he isn't drinking, which just goes to show that he's a bit older. Or duller.

"Well, at least I'm not pretending to be one of them," I huff, feeling a bit better about my jab when he laughs at it. "Speaking of that, why? Why would you voluntarily go through that, all over again?" I ask him. I did not ask him before, even if it has been bugging me pretty much since the moment we met. I would rather face Katherine than go back to high school and go through all of that shit again.

"Because of Elena," he shrugs, as if that answers all the possible questions. "It was the best way for me to have a chance to get to know her. And I really am 17," he points out. He does not look 17, in all honesty. Then again, neither do the actual teenagers. God, what are they feeding them here? Matt, Tyler and honestly, most of the rest of them too. There has to be something in the water.

"Well, if the SAT's float your boat, by all means."

"I see you still haven't dropped the passive-aggressive act."

"Nah man, I'm just following your lead."

"Actually, you're really not," he turns around to face me. "If you haven't noticed, I'm trying to wave the white flag over her." I didn't see a white flag. In fact, this is the first time that we have a chance to speak one on one. Sure, we've exchanged a few sentences but we were in others and it was mostly about Caroline and what we are going to do with her.

"Either way, Stefan, it's no big deal. We disagreed. It's bound to happen. I'm sure we'll disagree again. And that's okay. I may have blurred a few lines, and I'm the one to blame for that. I came here for Damon. I stayed because of all of you. That still doesn't change the fact that I came here for Damon."

"Being Damon's friend doesn't mean you can't be my friend too, Zoe." Stefan shakes his head at me.

"I know. That's what I told Damon. I am your friend. I am Elena's friend. I'm happy to be your friend but if you go for Damon, I will defend him like a rabid dog. I confronted him about what he had done, but I did it in a gentler way, Stefan. If I was in your shoes, I wouldn't be gentle. That's why I had to be the one to talk to him. He needed advice, not an attack. When he needs an attack, I attack him. I will stand up for him when I think it's needed. If that makes us bud heads, I'm sorry." I finish my speech.

"I think I understand," Stefan tells me after a few seconds. I turn and look at him, completely surprised. He starts laughing. "Is that so difficult to imagine? I get it. I guess that, at the end of the day, I'd do the same if it was Elena. What I would do for her is what you did for Damon. It doesn't matter if it's love or if it's friendship; it's that connection that just requires them to stand up for them." He explains.

"Wow. You're right. And all of that doesn't mean we can't be friends. I mean, I'm sorry if I'm a bit bitchy sometimes." I mumble, looking away.

"And I'm sorry for not standing up for Damon as you do." He tells me. Once again, I am surprised.

"You need to say that to Damon, not me," I tell him. He looks away from me, and I can read it on his face: that's something he's not going to be able to say just yet. As much as I don't want to blame him, I think I'd be easier for the both of them if they would just drop it. At the same time, I understand why he won't drop it. "To be fair, he did think he was kissing your girlfriend when he kissed Katherine, so I suppose it's okay to call you even," I add, in hopes of lighting up the mood; it works. Stefan actually starts laughing. "Would you look at that! You took Caroline's comment to heart, didn't you?" I ask.

"Yeah, a little bit," he admits, smiling. "It's stupid, isn't it? I mean, just because I don't smile often doesn't mean I'm not happy." He tells me. I wasn't sure if he's trying to reassure himself or me.

"I'm sure you're much more fun to be around when we're not afraid for our own lives," I say, chuckling. "To be fair, I used to be much more fun too. It's easy for Caroline to notice that you're serious; she's 17. She's a kid. You're much more grown up than she is. And I'm somewhere in the middle, just like my age is. You shouldn't take it to heart, but you also shouldn't be so grumpy all the time." I suggest.

"Yeah. Grumpy Pants, right?" He asks, using the nickname I gave him the very first day. I do not always use it, but when I do, it's usually very appropriate. "How bad is it that I actually like it?" He asks me with a guilty look, and both of us start laughing. It's nice; to laugh so carefree. It was a nice change.

"Very bad." I smile at him, before my eyes go back to Caroline; she's smiling as she talks to two girls from her class, but it's obvious something is off; at least it was obvious to me. "Do you think she will make it?" I ask Stefan, voicing my concerns for the first time. I said she needs our help and that we will help her, but not once did I wonder if our help will be enough. And I have been wondering.

"I'm not sure," Stefan admitted. "I hope she will. There's a strong possibility of it. She has better help than the two of us had, doesn't she?" he asks and I nod; while I had Damon, I believe Stefan and I as a team were a bit stronger than he was on his own. If we do our moves right, Caroline has a chance. Stefan suddenly gets up and I turn to look at him. "I'm going to go get us both a beer. One of the perks of being a high school student is underage drinking," he tells me as he walks away and I start laughing, knowing it's been a while since the two of us were under aged.

…

As the night falls, the crowd thins; Tyler is ordering them to continue at a new location, not wanting to get in trouble if someone took it a step too far. We are packing up and I notice the look on Care's face.

"He's still angry at me." she says, looking at Matt, who has his back turned to us, probably on purpose.

"Talk to him," I tell her. She gives me a questioning look and I smile at her. "Go. We'll wait," I tell her and as she runs off to him, I continue packing and Stefan helps me until his phone starts ringing.

"It's Elena. I'll be back soon," he reassures me before moving away from the noise to talk to her. I grab a plastic bag and I start cleaning up a little bit; if you're gonna party, you'd better clean up.

"Zoe!" Stefan runs to me. "Where's Caroline?" He asks me, and I turn around… and she isn't there.

"She was there a second ago, with Matt. What happened?" I ask him; he is freaking out.

"We need to find her, now!" he snaps. "I don't have time to explain, but basically, Lockwood's are werewolves and their bite is supposedly fatal to vampires." He tells me and my eyes go wide. I was joking when I was throwing the possibility of them being werewolves around! Before I have a chance to react, Stefan pulls me by the hand as he runs into the woods. I let him run off on his way as I try to focus on particular sounds; I should be able to hear her. I try, but I hear nothing. Well, nothing other than Stefan, who runs back to me.

"Can you hear anything?" he asks and I shake my head. As the clouds move, I look up and see the full moon, shining directly at the two of us. Well, crap. "We need to go!" Stefan yells and once again, we start blindly running into the woods. I run to Stefan and I stop him. He gives me a quizzical look and I point to my ear; he focuses on the noise too; it's low growling, like the one of a slightly irritated dog. It's definitely an animal. Slowly, in human speed, we walk towards a car; it's the same SUV Tyler's uncle was driving. And the growl is there; the animal making it didn't grow more irritated; we are simply walking closer to trips over something; heavy metal chains. We share a worried look, but both of us keep walking, very, very slowly, towards the abandoned SUV. We are too close; I can see two eyes in the dark, lurking from the car. Stefan takes a step back and pulls me behind him.

What happens next happens in only a matter of seconds; the glass breaks and the animal jumps out, as both Stefan and I fall, the glass breaks and falls directly on top of us and the animal moves fast, before I could even see it; both of us jump up at once.

"We need to find Caroline, now!" I yell before both of us break out into a run.

It doesn't take us long to hear it; neither one of us really wanted Matt to get hurt, especially not by Caroline's hands, but we needed to hear them. And once we heard Matt's yells, we knew the right direction. Stefan is the one who pulls Caroline away from him, while I stayed by Matt's side. As soon as I realize won't die on us, I drop him and I run to Stefan and Caroline, calming myself down; I could feel the fangs already being out and I needed all of my focus to stop it from taking over me.

"The three of us, we need to run!" Stefan yells as I turn around, trying to pinpoint the growling sound that's becoming louder by the second. "It will follow us and we need to lead it away from Matt. Both of you, run, as fast as you can!" He tells us, and I don't need another warning.

We run until Caroline suddenly stops, turning to the both of us. "Wait, what is it!?" She yells.

"Now is not the time for chatting, Caroline!" I yell at her. "It's a werewolf! It will try to kill us and it can!" I yell at her, angry at her for stopping; I don't think I've ever been this afraid of anything in my life.

"Hey!" We hear someone and all three of us jump up, only to see Tyler walking towards us. "What are you doing here?" he asks.

"No, what are you doing here?" I snap at him. I don't get a response, as the next thing I hear is Caroline's yell; I turn around just as she was falling to the ground, pinned down by a large, grey wolf. As she yells, I can't move; I am completely paralyzed by my own fear. I can't move. I can't even run to save my life. I was frozen, and if the wolf decided to make me its target, I'd be dead in a second.

Luckily for all of us, Stefan wasn't frozen. I watch as he moves the wolf off of Caroline, only to make himself a target. Once again, I want to do something, to help, and yet, I can't move.

"No!" Tyler yells.

I watch in complete shock as the wolf looks to him and stops it's growling. Seconds later, it runs in the opposite direction, with a speed that could easily equal the speed us vampires have.

I breathe out as I fall down to the ground.

…

I have never been good at texting, but I think I broke the record with this one: **Lockwood's are werewolves. Yes, they're real. And yes, they can kill us. Still alive, though.**

I am lucky Theo and Jess are either sound asleep, or hitting up one of New York's hottest new night clubs. There's no doubt in my mind, I'll get a lecture from them tomorrow. I can't even blame them for it. I deserve it. If Theo was to call me to let me know he had a close encounter with a werewolf, I'd kill him, then and there.

"Hey," Stefan says from the doorway; I am sitting on the bed in silence, ever since I've realized that a shower and a shot of tequila are not enough. "Caroline's okay. Matt will be on vervain from tomorrow. And Elena just texted me to tell me they're on the way back." he tells me. It's all fine and dandy. I'm glad they were all okay; I'm glad Caroline's in control. I really am. But being up close and personal with a werewolf shook me to my core. I wasn't ready for that. "How are you doing?" Stefan asks me. I was hoping he'd take a hint and leave me; he didn't.

"I'm fine. I'll live." I mumble, finally looking up at him. He's worried but when is Stefan not worried?

"You don't look fine." he tells me. Okay, so he'll push it.

"I froze, Stefan," I sigh, rubbing my temples. "Caroline was in danger, you were in danger and most of all, I was in danger. And I froze. If I made a run for it, I would be able to explain it; my self-preservation was stronger than my kindness. I couldn't even run. I just stood there." I tell him, taking a deep breath as I fall backwards, wanting to smother myself in a pillow.

"It happens. You can't blame yourself for it." He tells me and I laugh.

"Oh yeah? Really? Because Caroline almost got killed by that thing. And you weren't frozen." I tell him.

"It took you by surprise," leave it to Stefan to make a rational excuse for something that is not rational. "We live to see another day. And even if something had happened… it's not your duty to save everyone. If you still believe that it is, you need to know that it won't always be easy. Maybe you won't succeed. With Katherine and werewolves around, it's an option. It's okay if you're not ready to risk your life all the time."

"You don't get it, Stefan." I tell him, sitting back up again. "I was ready to risk it. I wanted to help. My mind was completely ready. But my body wasn't. I couldn't move, no matter how much I wanted to."

"The vampire in you took over," he tells me with a shrug. "You don't need me to tell you that. The vampire in you stopped you from being in an even bigger danger."

"The vampire in me would run the hell out of there." I disagree. If I was subconsciously trying to save myself, I wouldn't just stand there. I did nothing. If the wolf just turned in my direction, I would have been dead before I even had the chance to turn around, let alone try to run away from it.

"Your mind had stopped you," Stefan shrugs. "Or, maybe it wasn't your mind. Maybe it was your heart." He says. How the hell did he manage to turn me not helping them into a good deed?

"Well, whatever it was, it was stupid, and it won't happen again," I mumble. I wasn't expecting it this time. If I ever end up in a similar situation, I will not react the same way. I'll either help or I'll run for my life, but I know that I won't just stand there. "I'm going out." I sigh as I get out of bed; I had no plans of meeting up with Jamie, not after everything that happened tonight but I have changed my mind.

"Alright," Stefan nods his head, smiling at me. "Have a good night."

That's the kind of Stefan I like. Silent and supportive Stefan, not 'it will all be fine' Stefan.


	13. Honey, I'm Home!

**Here we go guys! It was nice to get some feedback for the last one. So, let me know what you think about this.**

 **Oh yeah, plot twist warning. And another warning: this is nothing compared to what I have in store for you :D**

* * *

"Do you need to escape again, like you did yesterday?" Jamie's voice is groggy from sleep and as I turn to look at him, I stretch out my arms as he puts his around me.

"Actually, I do," I admit, feeling the bed shake with laughter. "I've already made plans for today. Jenna is having this day party, this barbeque thing and I've told her I'd be there. In all honesty, I'd rather stay here with you. Actually, I'd rather be anywhere else, but I can't bail on her."

"Well, as much as I'd like for you to stay, I can't bail on Jenna either."

"Wait, she invited you too?" I ask and he nods his head. Why am I surprised? They are friends, after all. Not to mention that Jenna seems more than willing to do absolutely all that she can to get us in the same room. And she doesn't even know we're… well, whatever this is. But does she know it? Just because I did not tell her doesn't mean Jaime didn't tell her either. They have been friends for years and I have known Jenna for how long, a few weeks? For all I know, she knows all about it by now.

"Will we be going together or are we going as two separate entities?" I ask. It had to be asked. It's better if I'm the one who gets it out of the way.

"I had a feeling you'll throw that decision my way." he mumbles; he isn't smiling anymore. "I know what I want. But I'm not sure what you want. So it's gotta be you." he shrugs. After trying to throw the responsibility his way, I can't really blame him for throwing it right back at me. It's not like he doesn't have a point. Apparently, I'm the one that's pulling the strings here.

"Fine," I sigh. "We're going there together." I say, already deciding not to make a big deal out of it. Unfortunately for me, I have a feeling that Jenna will absolutely make a big deal out of it.

* * *

With a big bowl of freshly made potato salad in my hands, I am mentally preparing myself for Jenna's reaction. Whatever she decides to do, however she reacts, I'm not going to like it and as the door before us opens, I know I have officially run out of time.

I have to give her credit; I thought she'd start screaming and jumping up and down; she just grins like a maniac when she sees us at her front door; Jamie definitely told her something, if not everything.

"Hello!" She says in the most annoying sing-song voice. "Carpooling, I see?"

"Oh, shut up." I say, pushing the bowl into her hands as I walk inside; I hear both her and Jamie chuckle. It's nice to know both of them find this funny. Annoyed, I walk into the living room, only to stop as soon as I see who's sitting there, smiling at me. Mystery Hot Lockwood. AKA the werewolf that almost killed us all the night before.

"Hi," he smiles as he stands up and walks over to me. "I'm Mason." he offers me his hand. I stare at him, trying to figure out if he recognizes me as the vampire from last night, as sadly, I am not familiar with the memory of a werewolf; if he does recognize and remember me, he is not showing it at all.

"Zoe." I say as I take his hand, forcing myself to smile at him. If he's acting, I have to keep acting too. If he has no recollection of last night, I need to make avoid suspicion. So, I force a smile.

"Did I see you last night?" he asks. If my heart was working, it would stop, right now. "At the swimming hole? With Tyler and the other kids?" he asks. Okay, there are only three options here. One, he realized that his question gave me a shock and he decided to cover it up. Two, he has no memory of me being a vampire and actually recognizes me just from the party. And three, he formed that question on complete accident and it has nothing to do with the fact that he had almost killed me last night.

"Yeah, I was there," I nod with a smile, hoping that the actress in me was still very much alive. "A teenage party, because why not?" I joke and to my relief, he laughs. But he might be acting too.

I look around, hoping for a rescuer; Ric just stood there, in the kitchen doorway, looking confused. And behind us, Jenna and Jamie were talking and laughing about something. I am left on my own here.

"Oh, Mason, do you know Jamie?" Jenna asks and I see my moment.

"I'm gonna go and say hello to Elena," I mumble, making my escape as I climb up the stairs, hoping Jenna or Jamie will not stop me; luckily for me, they do not. I open the door to Elena's room without knocking, making her jump up in surprise.

I close the door at once and I lean on it, closing my eyes as I try to regain my calm. A werewolf is downstairs; I can't remain calm!

"What's wrong?" Elena asks. I open my eyes, only to be met by a worried look of hers.

"Don't mind me, I'm just trying to come to terms with officially meeting a werewolf that almost killed us last night," I say, pretending as if it is no big deal, watching as Elena's eyes widen. "And a guy I'm… I don't even know what Jamie and I are but we are something. That's enough to freak me out on its own but I am more worried about the werewolf, if I'm being honest."

I'm an idiot. I am a complete idiot. Until last night, I didn't even know that werewolves are real! I don't know anything about them! If vampires have super hearing, who's to say that werewolves don't have it as well?! What if he had just heard me, calling him a werewolf? I'm a complete idiot!

Ah, to hell with him, I'm risking it. I'll rather have him know that I know then to go through all of this on my own. I need girl power right now and Elena's the source of it.

"Oh my God!" Elena jumps up, kneeling on the bed, looking as if she doesn't know what to do next. If I wasn't having a breakdown, I would probably be laughing.

"Jamie as in Jenna's writer friend Jamie?" Caroline asks as she walks into the room; this time around, I'm the one who jumps in surprise. I was so focused on the werewolf downstairs, I did not even hear here! And how the hell does she know who Jamie is?! Then again, I've gotten to know Caroline quite well lately; if anyone knows everyone, it's her.

"Caroline, while me having a… thing with a human is a big problem that might end up biting me on the ass, I'm pretty sure that the werewolf downstairs is a bigger problem," I tell her as I fall down on the bed, next to Elena. "Or have you already forgotten how close it was to sinking its teeth into your neck last night? I know I haven't and I wasn't even the one that was attacked!"

"Okay, point taken," she agrees as she sits down on the ground, facing me and Elena. "What are we going to do with him?"

"I don't know, that's the problem," I admit. "We have no clue what we are dealing with. All those things we've seen in movies might have nothing to do with the truth. And I can't exactly walk downstairs and ask him if he's a werewolf, can I?"

How bad would it be if I actually did that? If he is a werewolf, I imagine it might not end in my death. Perhaps we could live together and toss aside what has to be decades of pure hate. What Damon told me earlier, as I was dragging out my shopping for the potato salad ingredients; werewolves are rare and near extinctions, because of us. We hunted them down. I kind of wish we were more thorough.

If I offer him some sort of peace, maybe asking him openly wouldn't be such a bad thing. But if he is not a werewolf, I would sound like a proper psycho. And with half of the town being high on vervain, I can't rely on compulsion to get me out of that one.

Damon seems to be pretty certain that it is Mason and yes, I did see how the animal reacted to Tyler last night, but that's hardly rock solid proof. Maybe it reacted like that to Tyler because unlike us, he's not a vampire? And it would hardly be the first time Damon had made a mistake.

"If he's a werewolf, both of you need to stay away from him," Elena tells us, looking in turns from Caroline to me. "Both of you and Stefan and Damon too."

"Which is going to be super easy, seeing as your aunt is determined to make us all bond and have a super fun afternoon," I mumble in annoyance. "Not to mention that Damon's on his way here. I just heard Ric call him." I tell her, right as Ric hangs up and ends the call.

"If that's the case, the three of us need to stick together," Elena tells us. She looks more determined that I feel, that's for sure. "Neither one of you should be left alone with him."

"Yeah, that sounds like a solid plan," Caroline agrees. "We stay hidden up here the whole day?"

"That might be doable for the two of you but I don't think I have such luck," I tell them, regretting my earlier decision to come here in the first place. I absolutely could have stood Jenna up. She would have survived. At worst, I would have to listen to her complains for a little while but she would definitely live and get over my betrayal. And I would make it to the end of this day _alive._ As alive as a vampire can be, of course. "With Jamie downstairs and with Jenna being as noisy as she is, there's no way in hell she's gonna let me spend the entire afternoon hidden away with you."

"In that case, we go down but we stick together," Caroline suggests. "So long as a vampire is not left alone with him, I think we should all be good. I hope." she corrects herself.

"Wait, hold on a moment," Elena stops us. "Since when are you and Jamie the writer a thing?"

"Elena, we will have that girl talk, I promise," I sigh. This is not the moment when I wish to explain to her why I have gone and done the thing I warned her of not doing. Human + Vampire does not equal a good think. I'm doing the same math right now. Same math, same risk. It's idiotic, in a way; I'm making a mistake, I _know_ that I am making it and in a way, I want to make it. It's definitely idiotic. "We will talk about it, I'll give you all the details but not now. Not when there's a werewolf in the dining room."

"Alright, it can wait," she agrees, even though I can see on her face that she is not going to let this one slide. "For now, we stick together. No one should be left alone with the werewolf.

* * *

So far, it is awkward as hell.

I might be older than them but if I'm acting as young as I look, I am too young for one group and too old for the other. Seeing as I have this… thing with Jamie, this isn't a good sign. I was balancing the two and Jenna is not helping me; every other minute, she would offer a comment on how smart, funny or cute I am. Whatever Jamie and I are, she wants to make it official. In a normal situation, I would have handled her antics in a better way but we have a werewolf in the house. _A_ _werewolf!_

Damon is too busy in charming all of them to be my safety net, and I can hear Elena and Caroline talking outside; surprise, surprise, Elena had her own worries. I can't really blame her. Dating a vampire and an evil vampire double does make you a priority. My issues with Jenna's persistence and Jamie's casual glances are nothing compared to what's been on Elena's mind.

We had one plan and it was simple. Do not, under any circumstances, end up alone with a werewolf. Now, as I walk into their kitchen I see that I am alone with a werewolf. A smiley werewolf at that.

"All this talk about you and I don't even find out the story about how you and Jenna met," he tells me, still smiling. I manage to fake my smile, one second before the "smile window" had closed.

"Well, it's not a real story," I shrug my shoulders. "It just kind of… happened. I met Alaric, he introduced me to Jenna, I've been spending time with Elena and well… you know Jenna. Once you get close to her, you can't truly get rid of her." I chuckle. While that is true, it doesn't mean that I do not like Jenna; I do, even with all her pushiness. I like her enough to ignore the pushiness and that, I think, speaks volumes.

"Jenna has her charm," he laughs. I fight the urge to make an escape, despite every bone in my body telling me to get out of the house at once. "And how long are you planning to-" he stops as Damon struts into the kitchen, majestic as ever, flashing his best smile.

"I'm sorry for the interruption guys, but I need to borrow my best friend."

I don't even have a chance to speak up before he grabs me by the hand and literally pulls me out of the kitchen; he doesn't stop there; he drags me out of the house, right to the backyard, where Ric is making burgers. I see him giving me a questioning look and I just roll my eyes as Damon continues to drags me.

"What the hell are you doing?" he hisses, frowning down at me as he towers over me; darn him and his height. "While I'm here, making friends with your human boyfriend I knew nothing about, by the way, you are in the kitchen, flirting with the freaking werewolf!"

"First of all, I am not flirting with the werewolf," I fight back. I'm not going to let Damon Salvatore talk down to me, despite how much I adore him. "I simply ended up alone with him and was looking for an escape when you waltzed in. And Jamie is not my boyfriend. I don't know what the hell he is but he is not my boyfriend!"

How long will that stay that way, though? We sleep together, I spent two nights at his home and now, we arrived to a barbeque party together. He's going to want to make it official, by the looks of it. And that leaves me with just two options. I can either run away in the opposite direction, screaming, driven by my complete fear of commitment and fear of being close to a human, or I can control my temper and my bloodthirst and for the first time in my life, actually try to make it work.

I don't even know if I like him enough to make such an effort!

"Well, whatever it is, it isn't smart!" Damon snaps. "And for the love of God, stay away from the werewolf! Let me handle it!"

"Oh, he's all yours, my friend," I chuckle, reminding him that I want absolutely nothing to do with his little vampire mission. I am done with all this Mystic Falls drama. This whole thing is one step away from being a step too far. If something like this happens again, I'm out. And I think, _I think,_ Damon knows that. It would explain his lecture. "You deal with him, I deal with teen drama."

"What about your human love affair?"

"Oh, fuck you, Damon," I snap. I can't. I just can't. Even I have my limits and now is not the time for him to corner me. I march away from him and towards the house, trying to figure out where I could hide from the werewolf, Damon and Jamie, all simultaneously, without actually leaving the house. I nearly run into Elena as I open the door to the house. "Hey, I-" I start, only to have her grab me by the hand and drag me to the corner of the yard, earning another confused look by Ric and a glare from Damon. Luckily for the two of us, he walks back into the house. If we are lucky, he won't be listening in.

"Something's going on with Caroline," she mumbles in a low voice and I nod my head.

"It can happen, Elena. She's changing right now. Her emotions are… raging. Plus, Matt broke up with her. Or she broke up with him, whatever it was. You can't expect her to have some… chill. If she ever even had chill to begin with." I add.

"No, it's something else," Elena shakes her head. "She keeps talking about how Stefan is torturing himself to be with me," she tells me. Well, those were not the words I would use, but…

"Elena, by having a… thing with a human, I have officially lost my ability to patronize you about this but what Caroline had said… you know it too. He loves you and he's with you and nothing will ever change that, but it's really not a picnic. It's actually really difficult to fight it, 24/7. You know it, we know it. The only difference is that none of us are rubbing it in your nose. Caroline is. She's jumpy. She's probably pissed because of Matt too. So just do your best to ignore it, okay?" I ask her.

"I'll try. She's not playing nice." Elena sighs, looking all bratty and sulky.

"Zoe!" Jenna yells across the yard as she steps through the door, followed by a smiley Jamie. "Where the hell did you run off to?"

"Well, neither is your aunt," I sigh as I throw my arm over Elena's shoulders. At least I managed to make her laugh. "Come on, let's face the inquisition."

* * *

I don't know what the hell Damon was trying to do but he sure as hell wasn't helping me. Although, I must say that the way he handled Pictionary was absolutely majestic. I would pay good money to see him draw a dog in a tutu again. As funny as it was, every single one of his clues was a direct jab at Mason and after our second round, I have become pretty sure that Mason is very much aware of it.

I have no proof; he didn't say anything. He didn't do anything, other than guessing every single wolf-related movie Damon had to offer. Other than that, I have no proof but I have a feeling that Mason is fully aware that he is in a house full of vampires.

Semi full, at this point. Caroline and Elena had made their exit, apparently going to see Stefan. I wanted to join them but I knew I could not make such a swift escape. However, when Jamie casually put his hand over mine, I knew that the alarm had rung and that I need to make a run for it.

I have to deal with Jamie first and Jenna second. With Caroline and Elena already out, I am officially allowed to leave, but I need to do damage control first. And Jamie is the first in line.

"Is this going to be a habit of yours?" he asks, smiling at me. I'm pretty sure that under that smile, he is actually very annoyed. To make it all worse, I can't blame him; I have been acting like a real dick. "Are you going to disappear whenever we have a chance to spend some time together?"

"Jamie, my brother needs me," I lie to him, without blinking. "I need to talk to him for a while. I can… I can call you later tonight. I'm not going to disappear all the time but sometimes, I won't be able to control it. My entire life is in New York and I am here. And yeah, that means that every now and then, I'll have to make a run for it. That doesn't mean I won't be back to you in a couple of hours."

"Do you even want to do that?" he asks. Once again, I can't blame him. "Zoe, if this is… bugging you, why keep it up?"

"It's not bugging me," I shake my head. "It's not, I just… fuck," I mumble, realizing that I have no real explanation for the way I have been acting. Even if I was to tell him the truth, that I am a vampire who is currently in the near vicinity of a werewolf, that would not explain the way I have been acting towards him. And I know exactly what it looks like; I look like a girl who is afraid of commitment. "Jamie, I have told you this… before this even started. I do not know what I won't. I can't afford to live differently; it really is day by day for me. I don't like… making promises and naming names. I just… live. And if you want to be a part of that kind a life of mine, I'll be happy to let you in. And if you do not, I will be okay with seeing you out. I don't do well with pressure. And I… I can't really discuss it right now but if you want to, we can talk about it tonight. And if not… see you around?" I suggest.

I feel bad for offering him so little but there isn't much else I can offer at this point. I like him, I do. I just don't know if I like him enough to risk my own humanity and quite frankly, risk his life. Every minute he is with me, he is at risk. Seeing as he doesn't know that, it's not exactly… fair. Not to mention that I am only one of the possible dangers; with a werewolf and Katherine running around, even if I am fully capable of controlling myself when he is around, he is still in great danger. Just with being close to me, he is in danger. A danger he knows nothing about. And at the moment, I can't explain it to him.

"Call me tonight," he tells me. Wow. Hell, this guy must really like me. If he is willing to see me again, after what I've just told him… he must really, really like me. I can't complain, can I? "We will talk about this. It can't go on like it but that doesn't mean I want it to stop." He admits.

"I will call you," I assure him, getting on my toes to be able to kiss him; it is a quick kiss, seeing as I am still in a rush to get out here. He smiles at me before going back into the kitchen, to help Ric and Mason with the dishes. Damon is god knows where and I manage to locate Jenna in the living room.

"Leaving already, huh?" she asks but shakes her head before I can speak up. "I get it. I do. It's all a bit too overwhelming, is it?"

"That it is, yeah," I confirm. I could probably lie to her, but Jenna is pretty perceptive. Well, other than the fact that half of her family friends are vampires and werewolves and she knows nothing about it, that is. "I think I like him. But all of this at once… I'm not yet at the stage to double date, I think."

"Just think about things before making rash decisions," she tells me. "If you feel like running from him… try to stick around for a day or two longer. The feeling often goes away fast and you end up regretting running away as fast as you did. And he really is a good guy. The best I know."

"I know," I nod my head, not wanting to talk about this at all; it's bad enough that I am feeling it. The last think I want to do is to actually talk about it. "Thank you for this little party. I had fun. I'll call you tomorrow, we should grab some coffee." I say as I walk over to hug her.

"Damn right, I need details," she makes me laugh as we walk over to the kitchen.

"Guys, I'm off," I wave at Ric, Mason and Jamie, who just smiles at me.

"It's a shame. We were having so much fun." Alaric comments. I am so going to kill him for that.

"Yeah, we really were," I beam at him, silently promising that I will kick his ass, the first chance I get.

"It was really nice to meet you, Zoe," Mason tells me. I smile at him. "I hope to see you around."

"I'm sure you will," I smile back at him. "See you, guys." I say and with one last wave, I leave.

Jamie and I arrived here with his car, which could either mean an uncomfortable car ride or a long walk; I chose the long walk. I have to clear my head anyways.

As I walk through Mystic Falls, I stop at all the random shops I have ignored before. The town might be small, but it still has a lot to offer. I've been sticking with New York for so long, safe for a few monthly expeditions around Europe and South America. And even then, I would stick to the big cities, to the metropolitan areas that never sleep and never stop offering you surprises on every corner. I forgot just how charming a small town could be. If we take away the fact that it is filled with supernatural.

Jamie. What the hell am I to do with him?

I know I like him, but do I like it enough to risk it all? Is what we could have worth the danger? And how much would I have to tell him? As a fairly honest person, I don't like the idea of hiding who I am from my partner. Hiding it from a one night stand is a different story; this is someone I could spend time with. How real would a relationship be if I would have to run down into the basement to stuff myself with a blood bag, in order to stop myself from killing him on the spot?

I don't know how Stefan does it. I don't know how Theo does it either, but Theo never had a riper phase. He was a vegetarian with a few lapses; Stefan went off the rails, big time. The only explanation that I have with how he handles being close to Elena without drinking her dry is the love he feels for her, which is exactly why I can't do the same for Jamie; I do not love him. Then again, the reason that I do not love him is that I don't know him. Perhaps I could fall in love, if I was to let my guard down.

I can't be with him, but I don't want to leave it all untested either. I can't tell him the truth but I don't want to lie to him either. I'm searching for a middle ground where there is none. I need to find a solution and seeing as I'm near the Salvatore mansion, I need one fast. If I call Jamie or go to see him, I need to know what I'm going to do and say. I need a shower and a good, long, thinking session.

"Honey, I'm home!" I yell, to no one in particular as I slam the door behind me. For a moment, it's all silent and I focus to hear if I'm alone or not. That's when I hear a noise from the basement. "Stefan?" I ask, knowing that Elena told me he was home; she and Caroline went to see him. I have a bad feeling in my bones; Stefan and a basement was never a good combination. I run down, and once I walk into the only open room in the basement, I lose it for a second.

Stefan, fine and well. And Elena, chained to a chair. Only, it isn't…

The look in her eyes, the frown on her face, the annoyance she looks at me with…

"I'm gonna go on a limb here and assume that this is not Elena," I mumble, staring at the girl. It was eerie. Much worse than looking at the picture and seeing Elena afterwards. They are exactly the same. The only thing that was different about them was their style. They looked the same, and yet, I know instantly that this was not Elena in front of me. The clothes, the hair, the look on her face… Plus, she is chained to the chair.

"God, not you again," She mumbles, looking at me in disgust.

"Excuse me?"

"You know her?" Stefan asks her before I have a chance to speak up.

"Yeah. I thought I killed her in the 30's," She says, looking at me as if she was challenging me. Well, shit.

"Um. Hello," I wave my hand." You obviously didn't. You're not the only special doppelgänger."

"I know," she grins at me. "When I first met you, we were both human. And when I saw you for the second time, you were a vampire and I staked you that very night," she tells me, sounding full of herself. I don't know what to say, or to do. I finally know what happened to Cleo. And there was another one too. We knew that was a possibility, we knew it was highly likely, but this is a confirmation. And of all the sources that could have confirmed it for me, it comes from Katherine Pierce. Fuck my life.

"Why would you kill Cleo?" Stefan asks, and I'm glad, as I have obviously lost my ability to speak.

"Because she was flirting with you," Katherine shrugs, as if that was the most normal thing in the world; killing someone because they were flirting with a person you like.

"She wasn't flirting with me," Stefan denies it, shaking his head. I can tell that he is angry; in fact, he looks as if he is angry enough for the both of us. Katherine is not in a good position right now. "We were friends. And why the hell were you following me?"

"Oh, you know why," she tells him, giving him an innocent smile. "Plus, she was flirting with you. I heard her talking to that wench of yours, Lexi. She liked you. And I couldn't let that happen." She shrugs again. How can she justify it like that? I know killers. Hell, my best friend is a proper killer but even Damon wouldn't be able to justify it with the ease Katherine had. She talked about it as if it was killing a fly and not another human being. Vampire, but a person with a life. A life, friends and an eternity to look forward to. And then Katherine Piece just… ended it. Why? Because she was jealous.

"What about the first one?" I ask. Knowing about Cleo isn't enough for me. It's not even close! I need to know all of it, about all of them, no matter how many there were. And right now, Katherine is the only one that has any kind of information about it. Whether I like it or not, it needs to come from her.

"Well, that's for me to know and for you to find out." She grins at me. Well, that's it.

I jump and before Stefan can stop me, I'm on top of Katherine, ready to rip her head off. The only problem is that she isn't tied at all; she gets out and in a matter of seconds, I am on the ground. Stefan jumps to my aid, and I get back on my feet, but then, all three of us hear Elena; she's back and in the house. In a matter of seconds, Katherine grabs a makeshift stake from the floor and slams it into Stefan's leg. She runs. Unsure of what to do next, I stay with Stefan; the other option was to run for Elena, but I stay with him. I pull the stake out of his leg as fast as I can, and I give him a moment to gather strength.

"Elena," he tells me, and with a nod, I run up the stairs, ready to save Elena. The moment I make an appearance, ready to save and kill, Katherine's out, leaving the door open as she runs. Once again, I am faced with a choice. I can either run after Katherine and finish her, once and for all, or I can help Elena. And once again, I decide to help Elena. I let her fall into my arms.

Stefan shows up soon enough, struggling with his still bleeding leg and I let him take over. The two are having a little moment as I try to wrap my head around all the information I managed to learn over the last three minutes.

Cleo is dead. Katherine had killed her. And once upon a time, Katherine knew a human double of me.

It is as repetitive as we thought it might be. I don't know anything else; I don't have a name, I don't have a year. All I know is that Katherine knew her and she was human. I do know that Katherine is about 500 years old, and she was a young woman when she got turned, maybe even a teen. That leaves me with the end of 1480's to the beginning of 1500's. And still, that's not enough; it's not even close!

It's for her to know and for me to find out. She'll never give that information up, not if she knows how bad I wanted it. I could never get it out of her, not even if I was to torture her. She would never speak.

I have to find it out for myself. I can't rely on the help of an evil slut vampire I don't even know, let alone trust! I need to do it alone and I need to focus on it completely.

"Guys, I can't," I sigh, watching as both Stefan and Elena look up at me in confusion. "I can't take this. I can't do this. It's too much drama, even for me. Werewolves, Katherine, doppelgängers… I need to write my own story before I can help you write yours. And I have to be alive to do it," I mumble. I don't want to give up, I really don't. I have every reason to stay, but I also have more than enough reasons to leave. Until now, I was torn. Now I know.

"What are you saying?" Elena asks me.

"I'm saying that I have to go," I tell her with a sad smile. "I have to go and I have to find this out for myself. Katherine won't offer me any kind of information. I need a proper break, from all of this. And let's face it; if I do find something, it might be able to help you as well. I have to go." I tell her. I'm not even trying to hide the fact that I don't want to do it. It's obvious, even from my voice. I want to stay. I can't quite explain why but I do want to stay. Which doesn't mean that would be the right choice.

"What about Damon?" asks Stefan and I chuckle.

"He'll understand. He'll know," I assure him. "It's what we do to each other; we disappear."

"Wait, you're leaving _now_?" Elena asks, finally understanding that I won't stick around to say goodbye to everyone. "Zoe, you can't do that." she tells me. I feel all warm and fuzzy when I see tears in her eyes; I guess I wasn't the only one that started to think we had a pretty good friendship going on between us.

"Yeah, I can," I correct her. "I need to find out what happened before. I need to know my story and how it's connected to the stories of my doppelgängers. You have been fine before I got here and you'll be fine if I leave. Besides, I'm only a call away. A call which I'll be expecting, if this all gets too hot for you to handle." I add, and this time, I look at Stefan. He'd call, I know he would. He'd call me. If shit gets out of control, he would call me. Damon would not, in a useless attempt to protect be, but Stefan would call.

"What do I say to Damon? Jenna? Ric?" He ask me and I feel guilt hit me like a ton of bricks.

"Tell them the truth. If they can know the truth, don't cover for me. Say it like it is. And to those you have to lie to, think of a good one. I'll be back. We have a book to close, but I need to write a few chapters on my own." I say.

We don't say anything else. I walk over to them and I hug them; Stefan first and Elena longer. I smile at her when she wipes away her tears as she smiled back; I think both of them know I'll be back. I will; I don't know when, but I will. I just need to leave, for my own health and for my own safety.

And just like that, I turn my back on them and I leave the house, not even bothering to take my things with me; I have my purse, with some money, a blood bag and my phone. I don't need anything else for now. Other than my car keys, which are also in the bag.

I don't even slow down to play some music. Music isn't going to help me now. I need to make an escape before someone can stop me. When I say someone, I mean Damon.

I meant what I said, that he would understand. It just so happens that with Damon, well… he needs a little bit of time to get to that. He will understand, eventually. But when he finds out, he will probably want to rip my head off and that's why I need to be away from her when he does find out.

I just have one more thing to sort out.

"I was expecting a call, not a visit," Jamie chuckles when he sees me standing on his porch.

"Change of plans," I tell him. I thought I have a bit for time for the decision making, but I don't. The little time I was supposed to have is long gone and I need to be out of here. Which means I need to decide where this is going, if I even want it to go anywhere. And I don't know what I want! "A massive change of plans," I add, knowing that he should at least know the magnitude of it. "I have to leave."

"Leave as in…?"

"As in… I need to leave Mystic Falls. Tonight. Right now," I make it a bit more specific and I see the look of annoyance on his face. I wish I could say that he has no right to be annoyed but he kind of does. He has a right to be annoyed, whether I like to admit it or not. And the problem is, I don't want to cause that to him. I actually feel guilty. It's been decades since I've last felt guilty for hurting a guy. I don't want to do that, I really don't. "I want you to join me. I'm not asking you to move with me to New York," I add as fast as I can, noticing the look of surprise on his face. "I don't think I'm gonna go to New York, to tell you the truth. But I know you have a flexible work schedule and I want to spend time with you and try to figure out what it is that I want. So… if you could join me for a couple of days, I would love that. And if not, I can't tell you when I'll be back. I can only promise that I will call once I get back. I just don't… I don't know if that will be next week or in six months. It's up to you."

Despite my common sense, I'm willing to give it a shot and this might just be the perfect chance to see if it is worth it. If he comes with me, I might actually get a chance to know him properly, without running for someone's rescue every other minute. And if we are away from real life Hellmouth, he might just be safe as one can me in the company of a vampire.

I want to see if there's something here. I am willing to give it a shot if he is willing too.

"Give me a minute to pack my bag."

A man who is willing to leave everything and go on a spontaneous trip with a girl he doesn't really know that well? He might just be the kind of man I need.


	14. Every Well Has Its Bottom

**I really didn't think I'll post this soon but it was my birthday yesterday so WHY NOT?! :D**

 **I hope you like it! Keep up with the reviews, they mean a lot to me :)**

 **Tell me what you think about this little twist :)**

I am one of the lucky ones. I might spend my entire life thirsting for blood and fighting the urge to kill innocent humans, but still, there are pluses.

For one, I do not have a full time job. Which means I don't need to wake up every morning at some godforsaken hour, only to be miserable for the remainder of the day. I never had to deal with that and even the extreme cases of me having to use an alarm were so rare, I didn't even have a chance to get properly annoyed by them. Still, there's nothing better than waking up on your own accord, once your body and mind decide that you have had enough rest. It helps if the sun shines in through large windows, right on your face, reminding you that there are reasons to get up and out of the bed.

Even after all this time, I don't take sunlight for granted. I will never forget how much I have missed it when I had to hide from it.

It doesn't hurt that I have a very funny, smart and good looking guy sleeping next to me, with his abs out in all their glory. As far as mornings go, this has to be one of the best I've had in the last couple of years.

I get out of the bed, careful not to wake Jamie up. I throw on a T shirt over me and I sneak out of the room. I walk through the backyard right to the shed. I open the fridge and down a blood bag; I keep it here and not in the actual fridge because that would not be an easy thing to explain to Jamie. Once I am done with drinking, I lock the fridge and exit the shed, feeling more at ease when I hear him softly snoring in the bed room; he still knows nothing.

Not having anything better to do, I make us some cheese omelets. I am considerate enough to not blast some music through the stereo; I am not alone. If I was, some rock and roll would already be playing.

Jamie's up just in time. The moment I hear him moving around the bedroom, I turn on the stereo and dance around to 'The Strokes' as I serve the omelets.

"You're phone's ringing," he points out when he walks into the kitchen, pointing on my buzzing cell. "Again."

"I know," I sigh. It's been vibrating for the last three days, almost all the time. "It's just Damon."

"And after three days, don't you think he deserves a call back?" Jamie raises his eyebrows.

"Jamie, Damon's calling me because he's pissed, not because he's worried," I roll my eyes. "He's angry I didn't give him a proper goodbye. And that's fair. I probably should have said goodbye before I left. But he did the same thing to me, and he didn't pick up his phone for six months. He'll live."

"What if it is an emergency?" he asks.

"It's always an emergency with Damon," I sigh. It's either his crazy vampire ex, a tomb full of vengeful vampires or werewolves. But I can't explain it like that to Jamie, can I? "I can't always put him first. He is my best friend and I love him, but all my life, I would run to him, whenever he needed rescuing. This time I just want to be left alone for a little while before resuming with my regular duties."

"Zo, people can't just pack up and leave whenever it gets uncomfortable."

"Yeah they can," I chuckle. "I just did."

"Not everyone has a villa in the Hamptons," he points out. Okay, fair enough. I just happen to have the most perfect escape destination. "You can't live like that. Moving your entire life from one place to another, escaping from yourself."

Now, this is going to be a big problem. I thought I could keep the act up and be believable enough but it truly is turning into a problem. He thinks I am escaping from myself when in fact I am trying to find myself. Very literally, too. I need to find out how my life is connected to the life of Cleo and the girl that was there before her. I am not trying to escape from myself. If anything, I am escaping what can only be described as a proper death trap. I'm escaping from werewolves and Damon's crazy vampire ex.

I can't explain that to Jamie, not without telling him what I am, followed by the entire vampire mythology. And I can't tell him the truth. Even a writer with his imagination would have issues with coming to terms with that. He would probably have a complete freak out and run away from me. I could always compel him to forget all about it, if he doesn't take it lightly. The problem is, I really don't want to do that. And I have been giving him vervain ever since we got here.

How can I try to keep him sheltered from it? Why am I so freaking selfish? I should just let him go and make him forget all about it. Or just keep my distance and not offer any explanations. It would work. And it would keep him safe, which is what I am worried about. But I'm not doing it.

In all honestly, I like him more than I would care to admit. Which can only put him in a bigger danger.

"Look, I don't have to live like that," I tell him, carefully choosing my words. "I am lucky. I do not have to get up early in the morning. I don't feel tired by the end of the day. I don't have to stay in the same place for my entire life. I don't have to do it. I live in New York and my home is still very much in New York. I went to Mystic Falls to help my friend and I'll probably go back there to finish what I have started. I don't know what I will do after because I don't have to know right now. I live in New York but I do not have to be there at every given moment. I don't run, Jamie. I went to see my friend. And I had to leave, which is why I had asked you to join me. I need to clear out my head. Once I do that, once I sort out a few things, I will go back to Mystic Falls. And once I am done there… I don't know what I'm going to do and you asking me about it is not going to help me reach that decision. I know, I suck. Believe me, I know that. But you can't expect me to answer questions I don't even know the answers to. If it's too much for you, you can leave. If it's not, I'm going to need you to stop questioning me because despite what you might think, I'm not some sort of kid that runs away from her responsibilities."

I'm older than he is! I've seen more shit than he could ever imagine! He might think he's in a position to patronize me but he's really not. And if that's what it's going to be like, I should know.

At this point, I don't even care if he talks like that because his worried. The reasons do not justify the act. If he's going to make it all difficult for me… I can't have that.

"I'm staying," he announces, after thinking about my words. "I don't know why, but I am."

"Good," I force a smile. "Now that that is settled, I should tell you that I need to make a quick trip to New York. I should be back by tonight. If not, I should be back by tomorrow morning."

"A quick trip to New York?" he asks in disbelief. "You're just gonna go there, out of nowhere, for the afternoon?"

"Yeah," I reply casually. "Don't get all sulky like that; I know that you have to write. I have some things to do and you will have peace, quiet and a terrific view. I have to meet up with my brother and sort out a few things about our apartment; he needs me to be there as well. It'll be incredibly dull, just as my brother is. Trust me, you're dodging a bullet here." I jokingly lie. The truth is, New York is never dull and neither is my brother, but the last thing I want to do is to have to explain to my brother why and how did I end up dating a human. Dating, is that what this is? Well, I guess it is now.

"Fine," he sighs, knowing that I have a point. He has a deadline for a few articles and I'm well aware that I have been a solid distraction for the last few days. He needs his solo time and I am leaving him in the best place in the world for a solo time; a giant, secluded house with a wicked swimming pool and the best view in the entire place. He doesn't have a right to complain about it. "Don't stay too long."

"I won't," I laugh. "You know, you should not be so possessive so fast. That's supposed to be hidden until we've been hanging out for like… months."

"With your track record with escapes, I think I'm allowed to break rules."

"Point taken," I chuckle when he pulls me in for a kiss. "Come on, let's eat up. I need to leave soon."

…

There were a few reasons why I didn't want Jamie to join me in New York. For one, it would be impossible to have a conversation in front of him that would keep him in the dark about vampires, witches and all the other supernatural creatures that we would have to talk about. Add to that that I did not want to explain to Theo and Jess that I am involved with a human. And last, but not least, I did not want Jamie to meet my ex… whatever, who also happens to be a vampire.

Theo and Jess knew that I was no longer in Mystic Falls and unlike Damon, they were willing to leave me be and to help, focusing on other things. When I called them, as I was driving to New York, they were more than ready to inform me on what they have found. And after they have persisted, I allowed them to involve Simon into it as well; I allowed that because he is older than all three of us combined.

I like Simon, I do. He is a good guy. Charming, funny and in a 911 situation, he is happy to help. But Simon always wanted more. It's my fault, because every now and then, I would give him more. Now that I have pulled that away, and he still wanted it, things have become strange between us. Simply put, I have been avoiding him for the last few months and he's a smart guy; he knows I've been doing it.

"Leave it to you, Zoe Cooper, to find werewolves." Simon laughs. I don't join in. I don't even look at him. At this point, I'm too pissed myself to laugh at anything, let alone myself. "In all my years, I have never met a vampire who ran into one of those," he repeats the same words he said earlier, when I have told him that werewolves are very much real. I notice Jess's glare in my direction; it's a warning. She knows I am very close to being angry at Simon. Actually, scratch that; I _am_ angry at Simon.

"Simon, if you think I made this up and if you don't want to help me, you know where the door is. I'm not keeping you chained here," I say. I am angry these days; I am just not a pleasant person to be around; Jamie's been very lucky so far. Simon knows it, they all know it. And Simon knows I need his help for this. Just as he knows that no one is making him do anything. If he's not up for it, I won't hold it against him, but he should stop wasting my time.

"I told you I will help, didn't I?" he asks me, and I roll my eyes at him.

"Then start helping. Please." I add, not wanting to sound like a complete mean girl.

No one is enjoying this. Googling werewolves and reading up old grimoires led us to nothing; the only thing I found from googling werewolves is that the craze about them is still very much alive. We need to dig deeper into that and with the four of us on this task, we might just find out something we did not know before. I hope. If we don't, every effort we made is going to end up being completely useless.

Once Theo, Jess and Simon don't speak up for a few moments, I realize I am leading this cavalry.

"Okay, let's get back to what we have managed to find out," I sigh as I kneel down on the ground, looking at the mess of papers that took over our large, living room coffee table. "So, Katherine was born as Katerina Petrova. Do we know the time and location?" I ask, looking at Jess.

"Yup. It was Bulgaria, 1473. The month is… June," Jess tells me as she reads it out from her notebook. "From that point on, we don't know much. She had a child out of wedlock but she never got to be the child's mother. I would have guessed that the child died, but since we have Elena…"

"The child lived," I agree, nodding my head. "Unless Katerina had another child we know nothing of."

"Highly unlikely," Theo speaks up. "She was turned around the age of 18. Unless she gave birth to her child at the age of 14, I don't find that one to be the case. These were the middle ages, not the dark ones." He tells me. So, we know that Elena's a descendant to that child of Katerina's. We knew that was the case before, but now we know a bit more. And we know for a fact where Elena's roots started.

"Now, we know she ended up in America before the 1860's. What the hell did she do in the mean time? We're looking at, what, 350+ years? More than 350 years of her being a vampire. God knows what she did then. Do we even know exactly when she turned? Or where? That would be helpful; she said she knew my doppelgänger when she was human." I remind them.

"Which would either mean that the two of us are descendants of Bulgarians, or that she met the other you in England," Theo tells me, staring at his other notebook. "I find the latter more likely to be true, as Jess did manage to trace our roots back to Bristol. It had to be in England." He concludes.

"But that's nothing more than an educated guess. We don't have proof," I sigh, throwing some of the papers I held in my hand back onto the desk; I have had it with our impromptu meeting. "I thought we had more. This is good, it's a step forward in the right direction, but it's not good enough."

"Do you want to go to Bristol? Because that's literally the only thing we could do that we haven't done already." Theo tells me, his tone more rude than usual. I bite my tongue, not wanting to start a fight.

"If I thought that would be helpful, I'd already be there," I snap; so much for biting my tongue. "Look, Jessica's logic was good on that one; our family moved to America for a reason. It could have been money, curiosity, or it could have been one of the other common reasons: hiding." I say.

"Do you think that having a vampire in the family would be reason enough?" Simon asks.

"I don't think so," I mumble, shaking my head. "First, Katherine said that the girl was human. Sure, she may have turned, but when Katherine knew her, both of them are human. And we don't have anything else to go on. Plus, if the girl somehow ended up being a vampire, she would have figured it out on her own. If I did not involve my family in it, she wouldn't have to do it either. Being a vampire it's not usually a common topic at Sunday lunch."

"Yeah, but your family was either dead, or crazy enough to join you in vampirism." Theo tells me. For a moment, I am shocked; his choice of words wasn't exactly polite. I was shocked, but when I look at him, he doesn't look angry. It wasn't meant to hurt me; he just didn't think it through.

"First of all, easy on the words, cowboy. Second of all, no one made you do it."

"That's not the point," Theo shakes his head at me. He's the one who missed the point, not me. "Look, if you think that going to Bristol might be helpful, let's just do it. All four or all three of us. We could be on the plane in a few hours. I'm telling you, Zo, if there's anything to be found, we won't find it here."

"You're just saying that because you want to play Indiana Jones," Jess speaks up. "Look, we could do that. And maybe we should. It's your call to make. But I don't think we'll find anything on your ancestor if we keep looking at Elena's ancestor for guidance, even if it is only historical." She tells me.

"Katherine wasn't exactly looking forward to volunteering information, and I don't think it would work, even if I was to torture it out of her. She's the only lead we have." I say with a shrug.

"And what about the werewolf thing? Did you find anything new?" Theo asks and I shake my head.

"Nothing that didn't end up being about Jacob Black." I mumble.

"Look. We'll keep it up," Jess shrugs her shoulders. "We'll do all we can. And you think about Bristol. It's never too late to go for it, but it's a call you need to make. While we're here, we'll do what we can."

"I actually know a guy I could talk to," Simon speaks up. Automatically, all three of us turn to look at him. "He's a friend of mine and he's a very old vampire. If anyone would have something to tell us about Katherine or Katerina, or whatever she went by, back in the day, it's him."

"When can you talk to him?" I ask. This sounds too promising to give up, at least without a proper try.

"He should be back in New York by the end of the week," Simon tells me; perfect, I have to wait some more. "Until he comes back, we will do our thing. Read the books, look it up, wherever we can. He might even know something about werewolves, even if he had never mentioned it to me."

"Okay, you do that," Jess speaks up, taking over my role as a leader. "You do that and we will do what we've been doing so far. We'll find something. We have to, right?" she asks, looking round and the three of us; if she was expecting a cheer or a battle call, she didn't get one. "Every well has its bottom." She shrugs. Jess, ever the optimist of our little group.

I feel tired and useless, as if I have been hitting my head on a brick wall, repeatedly, over and over again. It will move, disappear or stay there for all of eternity and I will still keep charging on it. Idiot.

…

I am sitting on the kitchen counter with a cup of coffee in my hand, staring blankly at the wall before me, when Jess joins me in the kitchen. Without saying anything else, she climbs up onto the counter and throws a hand over my shoulders. Sometimes, that's all you need.

Jessica is not just Theo's long term girlfriend. She has proven to be much more than that, countless times over the years. She is my best friend, right after Damon. And unlike Damon, she's not the kind of best friend that will get you in trouble. Jess is… a protector, I guess. I suppose she is the same thing to me that I am to Damon; that one friend that would back you up, no matter how deep the shit gets. I might love Damon to the moon and back, but I'm not sure if he'd be willing to do the same for me. Jess would. Jess is family. Jess has been a part of this family for more than 20 years now.

"How worried should I be?" she offers me a kind smile once I roll my eyes. "Should I be… _worried_ worried or just like… meh worried?"

"I wish I'd know," I chuckle, not even bothering to hide my frustration at all of this; I shouldn't bother with hiding it from Jess. "All of this is just so… frustrating. I knew nothing about this my entire life and all of a sudden, it all comes crashing down on me. The moment I stepped foot in Mystic Falls, it has been like an avalanche and it's not showing signs of stopping. The deeper we dig, the more we find out and the more we find out, the less I want to know. But I can't pretend like it's not real, can I?"

"Nope, I don't think you can," she shakes her head. "I was hoping to spare you the bullshit, 'look on the bright side' kind of talk, but that's really what you should do at this point. It doesn't matter how bad it gets, you know you can handle it. You're one of the strongest people I have ever met. Despite the avalanche of shit thrown at you, you will still hold your ground. It's okay to remind yourself of that, every now and then."

"I know," I sigh in annoyance. "I just wish that it wasn't so dark, you know. All my life I've thought that being a vampire was a complete accident. Now, with multiple doppelgängers and all of them being either vampires or connected to vampires… it doesn't feel like a complete accident anymore. And I've always justified it as a way to save my own life, to keep myself alive for a while longer."

"Geez Zo, don't think in that direction," Jess tells me, sounding really concerned at this point. "It is still an accident. Even if it was… written in the stars or meant to be, it _was_ an accident. You had no other option. And you should stop thinking about that. It'll eat you out if you keep thinking about it. Take a little break, clear your head and chill out. Let us do the heavy lifting and we'll call you once we find the fucking treasure chest."

"I can't shake it off completely," I persist. "Send me whatever you find. Just text me, call me, email me, whatever. I'll see what I can do about it from my own position."

"Where are you staying, in Hamptons or in Connecticut?" she asks. With the three of us, there are only two options for local getaways; our house in Hamptons our or cabin in Connecticut. If we're staying in the States, we are either in New York or in one of those two places.

"Hamptons," I tell her. I don't need to worry about her or Theo knocking on the door. We've been a team for many years. We know when one of us needs a proper break. When one of us needs to be alone, they are properly left alone. "If you need me to get over here again, I'll come."

"As soon as we have something palpable, we'll give you a call," she confirms. "And we'll send any possible info we have. So go, turn your brain off for a little while. You deserve it."

"Thank you, Jess," I tell her as I pull her in for a hug. "I couldn't have done this without the two of you."

"That's what we're here for," she chuckles. "It's as simple as that."

And it really is. For some people, you just do things, no questions asked. And if you are lucky, really lucky, those people will be willing to do the same for you. Once you help someone, no questions asked and you stand by them, no matter the shit storm, you know you're family, not just friends.

I'm lucky to have a family like this. A family that can be damn sure I will move heaven and hell for them in return, if need be. Because that's the shit you do for the ones you love wholeheartedly.

…

Despite driving over the speed limit, using all of my vampire senses to avoid causing any trouble to my fellow drivers, by the time I got back to the Hamptons, it was already past midnight. I thought I was going to be back sooner, but as it turns out, there was a lot of information that we had to cover. I was not surprised when I found Jamie sound asleep.

I use the time to have a bit more blood, without him noticing that I am sneaking out to the shed. After a quick shower, which to my surprise, did not wake him up, I hop into the bed. Finally, he wakes up. He turns around and throws an arm over my waist, nuzzling his head into my neck.

"What time is it?" he mumbles.

"Almost 2AM," I tell him. "Go back to sleep, it's late."

"When did you get here?" he asks, his voice still groggy.

"Not that long ago. I had a bite to eat and a shower. I had to stay a bit longer than I planned. I might have to go again in a few days." I tell him. It's better to warn him at once. Besides, we have not discussed how long we'll be staying here to begin with. I know what I need to do but I have no idea how long it'll take me to do it. His job is a great one for spontaneous getaways; he only needs his computer and internet. But just because he _can_ afford to stay longer doesn't mean he wants to.

"Did you at least get a chance to catch up with your brother properly?" he asks.

Okay, how? How is it possible that he did not try to lecture me about not being responsible by hiding away in the weekend house? Did he get a lobotomy while I was away?

Or maybe, just maybe, he had realized that this is who I am? And that he can either accept it or go his own way? Could be. Just because he was irrational once doesn't mean he is irrational all the time. And unfortunately for me, I have a thing for irrational boys.

"I did," I sigh, turning around to face him. If he keeps asking questions, he's done with sleeping; we might as well have a normal conversation. "I spent the entire day with him and Jess. Once the lawyer left, we had a chance to properly catch up."

Lawyer. That's supposed to be Simon? I'm going to trip on my own web of lies if I keep it up like this.

"What do they think?" he asks.

"I'm going to need a bit more that that because both Theo and Jess have a mess in their brains."

"What do they think about you going to Mystic Falls so suddenly? And leaving it? And not being home?"

"Look, they know Damon," I sigh. I really need to find a better explanation because 'that's what Damon does' simply doesn't cut it anymore. I wonder if it'll stop being enough for me as well. "Damon is a good guy who tends to make stupid decisions. And I'm the type of friend that will get him out of it, whether he likes it or not. This isn't the first time that I rescued him. And Theo is aware that I am a grown woman, who can decide what she wants or doesn't want to do. He's not in the position to complain."

"You're very close to your brother, aren't you?" Jamie asks, giving me a sleepy smile.

"He's the most important person in this world to me," I answer without even thinking about it. "There is nothing I wouldn't do for him and it goes both ways. No one will ever be more important than he is."

It's not a warning, it really isn't. It would be ridiculous to think that a guy, no matter how perfect he is, could be more important to me than my baby brother.

On the other hand, Jamie is a good guy. I like him more with each passing day and I'm not sure how smart that is. I know that he deserves the truth but what I have to say it's not an easy thing to say. I am willing to wait. I am willing to wait and see if this is worth it. And if it is… I will tell him the truth.

I will tell him what I am. I will tell him the complete truth and he can make a decision. I like him too much to lie about it for the rest of our lives. I just need to be absolutely sure about it first.

"What's your favorite color?"

"What?" I chuckle.

"I know so little about you," he shrugs. God, his eyes are just so… the bluest of the blue. I could stare at him 24/7, despite never really having a thing for blond guys. But Jamie… he's just making me question everything, isn't he? "I know you, but I don't. And I've just realize I don't even know your favorite color."

"It's blue," I admit. Normal Zoe would roll her eyes at such a question. Crazy-about-someone Zoe would think how such a question gives him at least 20 future boyfriend points. Did I just call him a boyfriend? Even if it is in my head? Did I?! Crap, I'm a goner. "What's your favorite color?"

"Green."

I never thought that a day would come when I would just talk about random things at 2AM, with a guy I kind of, sort of, like. A human, at that.

After all that had happened and all that I have seen in Mystic Falls, should I really be surprised? Before, if anyone had told me I would end up being involved with a human, I would NOT believe them. Now… I think I don't have a right to be surprise with this turn of events.

I'm not going to question myself, not anymore. I have done that ever since I was old enough to think on my own, to form my own opinions. I will not do that. I will just do whatever it is that I want to do. Doing that might just end up with me being happy, which would be quite the change.

I don't even know if I know how to be happy!


	15. Should We Expect To Find A Sunstone Too?

**Here's a new one guys! I hope you like it, let me know what you think!**

 **I'll post soon ;)**

* * *

The only info we have managed to dig up are the names; female names in my family line that lived at the same time Katherine was in England. We know names of women in my family that lived during that period. The years aren't precise, so we are basically guessing. Add to that the fact that we have no idea how truthful the documents are. We could be completely and totally mistaken, but we have names.

Catherine, Anne, Catherine, Sarah, Jane, Mary, Alice, Clara, Anne, Elizabeth and Jane.

What can I say? My ancestors had a lot of kids and very little imagination when it comes to naming them. We believe that all eleven of those women were between the ages of 15 and 30 around the time Katherine was in England.

After a bit of math, we figured out she was in England in 1492, which is the year she turned. So, she had to meet my doppelgänger either in 1492 or before.

That left us with eleven names, none of which we were sure of. Still, it was more than we had before.

However, we don't have anything else. We have names and for most of them, we know the years they were born in and years they have died in. half of them died before they got to their 20s but that isn't enough for us to suspect any supernatural reasons behind it. In those ages, people dropped like flies, for no apparent reason. You were considered lucky if you get to 50! All that we, or should I say, Theo and Jess, had managed to find is not enough to be considered solid proof of anything.

I am one step away from suggesting a trip to Bristol, even if I know it will probably be useless.

As I stare at my laptop screen, wearing glasses that make me look cute but that I don't really need, I start to fidget as I throw occasional glances to my phone. It had stopped ringing two days ago. Whatever is going through Damon's mind, he had obviously realized that I am not going to pick up and that I will call him when I feel like talking.

Just because I was more than willing to ignore his calls doesn't mean that I don't actually want to have a conversation with him. I do, I really do. The problem is, I would rather avoid a lecture he would have for me the moment I answer the call. And I don't want to give him a chance to even try to convince me to return. The truth is that I probably wouldn't need much persuasion and I can't leave now. I can't do it yet. And Damon needs to find a way to sort out his problems without my help.

But that doesn't mean that I don't want to know what's going on. I need to find out. I need to.

I can't call Jenna, seeing as she might just be the only person in Mystic Falls who has no idea that she is surrounded by supernatural. I can't call Bonnie; I like the girl well enough but I am not close enough to her to ask her for a favor. I can't call Jeremy for the same reason. Besides, they might be in the dark, compared to others. I can't call Caroline. She's a new vampire and she already has enough on her plate.

I can't call Elena, for obvious reasons. If I call her, Damon will know by nightfall. I can't call Stefan. I don't know if he would keep his mouth shut and based from the time I have spent with the two of them, I have a feeling that Damon would be able to read him like an open book.

If I call Damon… not only would I be signing my own death sentence, but I would be drawing stars and rainbows right next to my signature.

That doesn't… oh, but there is one more person. I did not consider him before.

I grab my phone and I look over my laptop; the giant windows give me a great view of the backyard; Jamie is out there, sitting at the empty pool bar, typing away on his laptop; we have split up earlier, seeing as we both needed silence to get our work done. He looks to be immersed in it and even if that changes, by the time he gets to the kitchen, I will have the time to end the call.

The reasonable vampire hunter and quite possibly, the only good person in all of this mess. And hopefully, not a person that would run to Damon at once and tell him that I have called.

The worst part about making a call you don't really want to make is the ringing; the sound is just like… a countdown to the end of your life. And your life will end once the call is taken. It rings and it rings. Alaric is either away from his phone, or he is choosing to torture me first.

I call four times before I finally give up.

I make myself another coffee and I go over the Bristol documents yet again. Not one of the deaths is suspicious. I've said this before, those were different times. If a family wanted to hide something, they could do it with ease. Especially if a family had money and ours apparently did. Even if half of them were turned into vampires, they could find a way to keep it under wraps.

And that's only a part of the story. That's the story of a doppelgänger Katherine knew when she was human. What about Cleo? What is her story, where did she come from and how are we connected?

I jump up in surprise as my phone rings; sheepishly, I look at the caller ID and I sigh in relief.

"Why the hell haven't you answered? I've called you four times!" I snap.

"I was asleep!" Alaric grunts, sounding as someone who had woken up minutes ago.

"It's almost noon," I point out. For a teacher, he sure does sleep in late on a Sunday. "Look, it doesn't matter. We're talking now." I sigh. Yeah, we are. And I don't know what to say.

"Oh, we're talking alright," Ric grunts again, this time sounding wide awake and ready to attack. "Where the hell are you? Why did you leave so suddenly? No goodbye? And why did you call?" He asks me. I should have known that Damon would not be the only one that would ask me questions.

"I am close to New York," I sigh, deciding to answer his questions in order. I don't give him the specific address because I'm pretty sure Damon would have the balls to show up and that's the last thing I need at this moment. "I left suddenly because… Because I had to leave. I was always going to leave at one point and the night I did, I had no other options. I didn't have time to say my goodbyes. Besides, I will be back. I didn't disappear from the face of the Earth. I will be back there eventually."

"And why haven't you called earlier? It's been… more than a week."

"I was a bit busy. And I didn't want Damon on my case." I admit.

"Now I'm pretty sure you didn't bother saying goodbye to most of us because you didn't want to give Damon a chance to stop you from leaving." Alaric says. I'm impressed.

"Yeah, that's one of the reasons," I admit. Why would I lie about it? He knows me well. Or, he knows Damon. Both could be very true. "Look, I'm alright. And I will be back. I'm still on the same continent; I'm just not in Virginia anymore. Now, could you please tell me what the hell happened since I was gone? Because I have no clue and knowing Damon and his little merry bunch, it hasn't been boring."

"Oh, okay," Ric mumbles and while he thinks about the info he has to share with me, I grab a chance to light another cigarette and take a sip of my coffee. "Well, Stefan and Elena broke up." He tells me.

"Are you kidding me?" I ask, my question met with silence. "Okay, Ric, don't get me wrong. I like them both and they were… couple goals and I feel bad it's not the case anymore but are you actually kidding me? Out of all the possible things that you could tell me, you're telling me that?" I'm in disbelief.

"Look, it kind of is a big deal here." Ric defends himself. "Tensions are high because of it. Especially with Damon being well, you know Damon." He tells me; he was right about that one. I knew exactly what he meant. He probably organized a party to celebrate their break-up. That's the kind of shit that happens when I am not near him to stop him on time.

"Alaric, I was asking you for real, serious, life or death, type of danger."

"Well, Mason almost got both Stefan and Damon killed, but that didn't actually go by plan," he tells me. I could feel my heart skip a beat; why didn't he start with this, and not the teen drama? "I'm not the right person to tell you all of this, as I'm not informed with all of the details, but they are looking for something called a moonstone. And Damon had basically started a war with Mason. I think the war was on even before you were out of Virginia." he adds.

"Should I freak out and get in my car?" I ask. If that's what needs to be done, I'm doing it. I'm not about to let Damon be killed by a hot werewolf.

"Nah, it's not that bad. I think he can handle it," Ric reassures me. "But there's something about this moonstone. Actually, I'm going through some of Isobel's work; I was working all night long; that's why I was asleep when you called. I had a lot of stuff to go through and apparently, this moonstone is a big deal with the Sun and the Moon curse." He tells me.

"Did you just say the Sun and the Moon curse?" I ask him in a flat tone.

"Yeah. I know it sounds crazy, but give it a go; you're a vampire." He tells me. Okay, he has a point.

"So, what's this curse?" I ask him. Is it possible, is it actually possible that there is _another_ problem waiting for me? I have the doppelgängers to deal with, we have werewolves breathing down our necks, Katherine's plotting god knows what and now there's a curse? Really? It wasn't enough before?!

"I'm sure your witch friend will be able to tell you more about it than I can, but basically, it's the thing that made both of the species week; werewolves to the Moon, as they only turn when it's full."

"And vampires to the Sun, as it burns us," I nod, understanding where he's going with this. "I doubt Jessica knows anything about it; she was pretty surprised to find out that werewolves are real, just as much as we were. But how is any of this connected to a moonstone?" I ask.

"Well, it binds the spell. It's an actual stone. A rock, a milky colored rock." Ric tells me. My knowledge of witchcraft just doesn't reach these points; I will need Jessica's help for this one too.

"What do the others say?" I ask him, already imagining how Damon's handling all of this.

"Yeah, they don't know about it yet. You called before I got a chance to talk to them. I'll take over Isobel's research to them as soon as I wake up properly. You should ask your friend about this and let us know if she knows something."

"I will. Look, I know I'm out of town and all of that, but you do know that you can call me, right? If you need help? If you need help about anything, anything at all, you can call. It doesn't go just for Damon; it goes for all of you." I tell him. While I'm not there, in Mystic Falls, fighting this battle with them, I'm fighting on another front. Just because I am away doesn't mean that I won't come around if they yell for help. After all, we are playing on the same side, in the same team."

"I know. They know it too," Ric reassures me. "How are you doing? Did you find anything?" He asks me.

"No, I'm afraid not. Not much, that is. A few names, here and there but nothing we didn't know or suspect before. I do have a feeling that I'm on the right track. I am digging into some werewolf stuff too; all I found was that they're weak on silver." I tell him.

"Huh. Well, I can tell you for a fact that that one's busted. Damon had stabbed Mason the night you left and Mason was still alive and well after it." Ric tells me.

"He did what?!" I snap. He promised me he'd be civil! Ugh, when will I stop expecting more from Damon when it's becoming obvious he had made it his life's mission to be a dick?

"Yeah, he stabbed him. Unfortunately for him, Mason lived. And almost got Stefan and Damon killed, which I have already told you about. Caroline had managed to save them and they're waiting to compel Sheriff Forbes; she found out her daughter is a vampire and she didn't take it too well." He tells me.

"How is Caroline doing?" I ask, afraid of the answer I might get. That is not an easy thing to live through. I was lucky to have Theo by my side and I was very lucky that Theo was a stupid teen who would listen to whatever I have to say. Sheriff Forbes is a vampire hunter. Caroline being a vampire must have been a big shock for her and I can only imagine how bad that must feel for Caroline.

"Not too bad. She's sad, but she's moving on. I think. Why are you asking me this? You know I only help when they need my help; it's not like I'm in the middle of it all."

"You're the only one I could call. The only safe option." I admit.

"Meaning, I'm the only one who wouldn't flip on you for leaving or try to make you to return?"

"Yeah, pretty much." I admit.

"Look, it's not exactly a secret. They need you here. But they can also manage without you. You know they'd call if it was urgent. So, as much as I'd love to have you here, and as difficult as it was for me to explain your escape to Jenna, I think you should do your own work. Besides, you might actually find something that might help them too."

That's the reason why I wanted to talk to Ric. It's not just because he wouldn't run to Damon at once. It's because he's a rational man. He understands that I want to help but that sometimes, just every now and then, I need to put myself first. There are things I need to find out and they can't wait. With Katherine out there, and with a track record of knowing one of my doppelgängers and killing the other one, I can't afford to ignore this. I need to get to the bottom of this and find out as much as I can, starting with who the doppelgängers were and how they are connected to me. It would also help to know how many of them existed. I need to find out and as Ric pointed out, it might also help them. Whatever I find about the doppelgängers might help Elena with her psycho double. And I am also trying to see what's going on with the werewolf thing. And now, apparently, Sun and the Moon curse too.

"I hope so," I sigh. "I have to go now; I'm in the middle of my work and I need to continue with it. Just, text me if something happens. Keep me posted. And, if possible, don't tell them about it."

"I won't," he promises me. I'm not sure why I trust him on this; I just do. He's Damon's… friend? I'm not sure that's the right word. All in all, I have no reason to believe he'd run over to Damon and tell him all that we have just discussed. And even if he was to do that, there's nothing wrong with it; what could Damon do? If he was to show up on my doorstep, ready to drag me by my hair, back to Mystic Falls, I would kick his ass. And if that wouldn't work, I would call Jess and Theo to help me kick his ass. "And one more question; are you with Jamie? Because Jenna told me she hadn't heard from him in a while and she thinks he's out of town."

"I am," I admit, frowning at my own stupidity. Of course Jenna noticed. I suppose that I could lie and say that I haven't seen Jamie since the barbeque party, but that would be too much. If I was to claim that, she might start to think that Jamie had gone missing. As far as I know, he's been ignoring his cell phone too, wanting a bit of privacy and a break from the rest of the world. Jenna could panic and in a place like Mystic Falls, it probably takes them one afternoon to proclaim a person missing. And with their track record, they will probably consider him dead by the end of the day. As much as I would like to keep Jenna in the dark about our getaway, I can't do that. "He's with me. He's safe and all. I'll answer Jenna's questions when I gather the balls to come back." I mumble, making Ric laugh.

"Alright, I'll let her know he's with you," he chuckles. "And you stay safe, okay?" he adds.

"I will," I promise him. I don't mean to jinx myself, but really, what can happen in the Hamptons? "And you stay safe too. All of you." I say. We end the call and I sigh.

I need to make another call and this one won't be pretty.

Having nothing to lose, I google "sun and the moon curse" and I'm not surprised when I find nothing. I should just be lucky I didn't manage to find anything that connected it to 'Twilight'. With a sigh, I check on Jamie again; I might be pushing it with all of these vampire talks when there's a chance of him walking in on me in any given moment but he's still typing away at full speed.

I sometimes actually forget that I have supernatural hearing. If he decided to pay me a visit, I will know and I will have the time to change the subject.

I call Jess, who is home with Theo and Simon; they tell me they are going over some old grimoires. I am happy I won't have to tell this story twice, or even three times. I tell them all that Alaric had told me. Well, I tell them all the important stuff and not the teen drama; silver does not hurt werewolves in any way and there's a moonstone that supposedly binds us in a Sun and the Moon curse. I tell them all.

"I'm sixty years old. I've been practicing witchcraft since I was ten. How come I've never even heard of this curse?" Jess asks; I can actually hear the frustration in her voice.

"Now how do you expect me to know the answer to that?" I ask her.

"It was rhetorical, Zoe," she sighs. I don't need to see her to know that she is definitely rolling her eyes. "Besides, I can't know everything. I don't know every curse that exists in this world. That being said, I'm pretty sure that I would know a thing or two about this one." she mumbles.

"What makes you say that?" Theo asks her. This time, I'm the one with an eye roll. Isn't it obvious?

"Because it's a big deal," I cut in before Jess has a chance to explain. "It's the curse that makes us slaves to the Sun. All of us, except the lucky few." I correct myself, looking down at the turquoise finger on my right hand. "It also makes the werewolves slaves of the Moon. It's a big curse, man. Every witch, vampire and werewolf should know about it, and apparently, we don't."

"And what about the moonstone thing?" Simon speaks up; judging by the sound of it, he's asking from our kitchen. "Can a spell even be bound in a rock? Does it work like that?"

"Actually, it can." Jess sighs. "It's quite common to bind spells with something. All three of you are good examples; your rings. I bound the spells in them. The rings are magical, not the three of you. The same could be said for the moonstone. Of course, it doesn't have to be the case; it could just end up being an old rock and a dead end. All in all, it's quite common for witches to use something like that. Especially old school witches. I mean, is there anything more poetic than cursing a werewolf to be the slave of the Moon, using a moonstone?" she asks. It is a bit poetic, isn't it?

"Should we expect to find a sunstone too?" Theo asks. For a moment, I stay silent, wondering how the heck he and I are related.

"Jess, could you please hit him, I'm a bit far away from that?"

"Hey, easy!" Theo snaps and I can imagine Jess trying to hit him at my instructions. "If a moonstone exists, why is it so difficult to imagine that a sunstone exists?" He asks.

"Honestly, I don't know what to think. It's weird," Jessica speaks up again. "Look, I'm not sure if I can even explain it. Let's take your rings for an example. I enchanted them the same time, the very same day. I'm not sure how much you have paid attention to details back then, but in case it had escaped you, I did two different spells. One spell can't just part ways and be bound by two different objects. Now, I've never tried it the other way around, but I find it highly unlikely that two spells could be bound in one object." She tells us; it takes me a moment to understand what she was trying to point out to us.

"You think it's impossible for both vampires and werewolves to be connected to it?" Simon asks her.

"I think. Think is the keyword. I don't know if I'm right or not." Jess points out.

"But it's called the Sun and the Moon curse." I say, confused. "It's not the Sun curse and then the Moon curse. We're not talking about two different curses. Theo's suggestion about a sunstone is pretty stupid but is it possible that a very old, ancient witch just decided to two birds with one stone?" I ask.

"One very strong spell bound by one object is possible. Two different spells in one object is highly unlikely." Jess explains.

Jessica is my go-to witch. She has been my go-to witch for twenty years. She was the one who always knew everything. Every problem we ever had, she could solve it. Being burned by sunlight? Worry not, Jess will fix it. Vervain weakens us? That's nothing for Jess; one simple spell, one day of suffering vervain burns, and voilà; vervain bothers us, but not as much as it bothers other vampires. Jessica could solve anything. I have relied on her for everything, possibly even too much. Now, she is faced with something she can't solve; something she can't explain. The only positive thing about this is that I seem to be more shocked about this than she is. She knew she doesn't know everything. I didn't.

"So, we could call the Sun and the Moon curse… plausible?" I ask.

"Yeah, I guess." Jess agrees. I can hear the reluctance in her voice. "Look, if it is true, it's going to take a lot more than a moonstone to end the curse, to dispel it. At the very least, they would need one hell of a witch, the actual moonstone and some very solid information about how the curse was placed in the first place. When, where and why. So, even if all of this is completely true, I wouldn't worry too much about it; it would be next to impossible to actually lift it." She reassures us.

"Wait, would you be able to do it?" Simon asks her. "Moonstone, information and all at hand?"

"I don't think so. I could try, but I could just as easily die in the process. It's a curse that affects not only an entire species, but two whole species. Honestly, I'd never meddle with that if it were up to me. The two of you can walk in sunlight, so can your friends; that's good enough for me." she announces.

I'd never ask something like that of her and I wouldn't let anyone else do it either. If she was to do it on her own accord, I would stop her. Besides, I don't think it would be right. I know how difficult it is to avoid sunlight and I can only imagine how horrible it is to do it for years, decades or centuries even. My reasoning is simple; not all vampires are good guys. Everyone knows that. We don't want all of them out and out of control at any given time. Jess had made a daylight ring for Simon first; then, she met Theo and me, and made them for the two of us. Even doing that was more than she originally planned to do.

"Okay, so even if it's all real, it's not a big deal, because no witch would be crazy enough to try and lift it?" Theo asks her. I'm impressed; he said it better than I would. And I am the speaker out of the two.

"Yeah, basically," Jess agrees. "Zo, if I were you, I'd just focus on my own history. Doppelgängers are a much bigger worry. And werewolves… you know what I think about that."

When I first decided to divide my time between two research topics, Jess tried to reason with me. She tried to do it for one simple reason; Mason is the first werewolf we have ever encountered. He's also the first werewolf Damon had encountered, and he's been alive for a longer period of time. Simon, who's more than 200 hundred years old, never even heard of them before. Not as a serious threat that actually exists. A long time ago, vampires hunted them down, almost to extinction, the whole species. They're not that big of a problem. Jess had a point about that, but apparently, I have an obsessive compulsive disorder and I want to know as much as I possibly can.

"Well, it's not like we already didn't have enough on our plate." I agree with a sigh. "Okay. I'll leave the Sun and the Moon thing to Damon and his gang. If it becomes an issue, we'll be the first to know. They will holler and we will help as much as we can," I tell them. I hear a laptop close and when I look up, I see Jamie walking towards the house. "I have to go now. I'll talk to you later. Call me if you find out anything!" I talk as fast as I possibly can, ending the call in the speed of light.

It isn't about Jamie hearing us, not anymore. Now, it's about them not finding out that I am here with a human. They'd have a lot of questions to me and right now, answering those kinds of questions is the last think I want to do. I smile up as Jamie walks into the kitchen, acting as if I did not notice him walking my way before. "Done with work?" I ask, smiling up at him. Yup, I still have it in me. My acting is Oscar worthy and the world will never know what kind of talent they have given up on.

"For now, yes," he sighs as he walks over to me, giving me a quick kiss. "We'll see how much I'll have to fix when Mr. Editor decides he doesn't like what I had to offer."

It is so bizarre, hearing about everyday troubles. Social security, what will the boss think of my work, should I paint the house this month or the next… Things I had not thought about for decades. It's weird talking about it, even when it is of importance to someone else.

"Let's hope he doesn't bitch about it too much."

"Yeah, that's not going to happen," he laughs. "The Sun and the Moon curse?" he asks, his eyebrows raised. Shit, I didn't close my laptop. At least he is laughing in confusion. "What the hell is that?"

"Research for my project," I play it off, casually closing my laptop. "Boring stuff."

"You're a history major," Jamie laughs. "How the hell are curses connected to your major?"

"Oh, you'd be surprised," I chuckle. "You're talking like you don't know about the Salem witch trials." I remind him. Now, that would be a story for him to hear. When Jess talks about it, it almost sounds as if she was there to see it herself. Some actual witches were burned, not only innocent women. It was a witch purgatory but also one of the best examples of misogyny in history.

"Point taken," he nods his head. "So? Which period of time is connected to the Sun curse?" he asks.

"Actually, that's an even longer story," I chuckle, trying to think of an excuse. "I take occult study classes. Parapsychology and folklore," I burst out, remembering what Isobel had studied at Duke. Ric told me about it and I am very lucky to have a good memory. "Don't ask; I like to have too much work." I add, hoping that will stop him from asking more questions I wouldn't have a good answer to.

"Is there anything else you do in your free time? Biochemistry, maybe?" he chuckles.

"Not yet," I shrug it off. "Now, what should we have lunch? Do you want me to make something or should we go out and explore Hamptons a bit?" I suggest. I have a ton of work to do, none of which can be done when he can just look over my shoulder and see it all. I need him to be busy as well. God, I hope his boss has a lot to bitch about.

"Well, it would be a shame if we don't leave the house at least once."

"I'll need a few minutes," I sigh as I jump up the chair, grabbing my laptop; I'm not taking any chances anymore. "You think if you're up for Italian or Thai." I kiss him on the cheek before making my escape. Should I put the laptop in the freezer as well? God, I need to cover my track. He doesn't even have to be nosy to find out thinks he should not be finding out!

Maybe, just maybe, I should start with a passport and actually closing my laptop every now and then.

* * *

Days have passed and we still have nothing. Nothing palpable, nothing of importance. The only reason why I am not openly frustrated is Jamie.

For one, if I show my frustration, he will ask questions, questions I can't answer. Also, it's kind of difficult to be frustrated when he is around. If I have managed to discover anything over these… 10 days that we have spent together, it's that he is one big ball of positive energy. And that his job does allow him to do stupid things, such as, follow his maybe girlfriend for a sudden mini trip.

He just has that… thing about him. He can talk about anything. Any topic in the world, he'll have something to say or a question to ask. More often than not, he is quite funny. And despite not quite agreeing with what he calls my "nomadic lifestyle", he no longer comments about it. I told him how it's going to go; he will either accept it, or we will go our separate ways. So far, he's been sticking to his decision and I am… thoroughly enjoying it.

If we were to take away the fact that I am lying to him on a daily basis, it would be absolutely perfect.

But right now, at this very moment, there's trouble in paradise.

"Jamie, I am dead serious right now," I say as I sit up; seconds ago, my head was in his lap as I was sprawled over the couch. I needed to sit up and look him straight in the eyes, because if I don't, he might not realize how freakin' serious I actually am. "If you keep on with this, if you try to force me to make a decision, you can pack your bags and leave for Mystic Falls this very second."

"Zoe, you can't have both."

"Yes I can," I shake my head. I love living in denial. Denial is the best place in the world to live in. In denial, everything is more than perfect. "I can have both and you're not going to change that."

"Zoe," he sighs, using his 'reasonable' voice with me. "You need to make a decision, once and for all."

"No, I do not. I do not. You can't tell me what to do."

"Zoe, it's not like it's a life or death decision," he laughs. "You can do it. I know you can. Just… decide."

"It is life or death!" I snap at him. "Jamie, I mean it now; if you keep this up, pack your bags and go to the train station because this is not the kind of shit I want to deal with in a relationship."

"How is it possible that asking you to pick between Oasis and Blur had led to you calling this a relationship?" he asks. Oh shit. Shit, shit, shit.

"Oasis," I blurt out. "There, I picked."

How stupid am I? Seriously, how stupid am I? I should not have been the one to mention something like this, no way. I should have been the one that wanted to avoid this subject at all costs. Since when did it become a good idea to… go steady with a human? A human?

"Zoe… we're not going to pretend like you did not just say what you just said."

"Oh, yes we are," I blurt out as I stand up. "I literally just said it. It meant nothing."

"Then why did you say it?" he asks. He is so calm, it sounds as if he was expecting this to happen. For all I know, he was! That's how guys like him function. They get under your skin and then pretend like that wasn't their plan all along. He can act all innocent, he can act as much as he wants to but I know, I know it was on his mind long before it was on mine. He had just trained himself in not saying it out loud.

"Jamie, it literally slipped out," I try to reason with him. "I don't-"

The doorbell rings. I turn around, shocked. No one ever rings our doorbell.

"Did you order some food or something?" I ask Jamie, who shakes his head. "Who is it then?"

"A neighbor?" he suggests. "A salesman?"

"We don't know our neighbors and no one ever sells anything door to door in the Hamptons," I shake my head. I can't hear anything other than breathing, which isn't much of a clue. It can either be someone who stumbled onto our house by accident, not knowing that two vampires and a witch own this house, or it is a vampire that has not been invited into the house. Seeing as Theo was invited into it, this is bad. Best case scenario is that it's Damon and that's not the scenario I want. "Stay here." I order Jamie at once.

It would have been more believable if he is aware of the truth. Now, he just sees a tiny girl, especially compared to him and his towering height, who thinks she can handle something better than he can. He has zero clue about just how strong I am.

I walk towards the door before he can realize that in his head, it's a horrible idea and try to stop me; I open the door and I see that I am right. It is a vampire, a vampire that had never been invited into the house. A vampire I wasn't expecting at all.

"Simon?" I ask in shock.

"Hey," he smiles at me. "I told you I would let you know if I find something. We need you back in New York."

"And you couldn't tell me that over the phone?" I ask him. "I was talking to Jess just hours ago?"

"She and Theo don't know yet," he shakes his head. "My friend came back to the city and I think we need to talk to him, about everything that we have found so far."

"I know, but you can't just-"

"Zo, what's going on?"

I close my eyes and I let out a low sigh. It was stupid of me to think that I would manage to hide it, with Simon being on my doorstep and Jamie just sitting in the living room; of course Simon would have realized I was not alone, sooner or later and of course Jamie is curious to see who I'm talking to. And I think I have a few seconds before Simon smells… I open my eyes and see Simon looking down at me, wide eyed.

He can smell Jamie. He knows Jamie is very much a human. One of my covers has been blown and I am one step away from having the other one blown as well. I need to act. Fast.


	16. A Myth With A Name

**Let me know what you think of the chapter! I'll update soon! :)**

* * *

One would think that I would know how to get myself out of sticky situations, after 50 years of experience, especially since I have spent the bigger part of those 50 years either getting myself or someone else out of all kinds of sticky situation. By this point, I should know how to think fast and react even faster, with or without vampire speed. I should be better at this but alas, I am not.

Okay. The best lie is the one that is as close to the truth as possible. Or is it the other way around?

"Um, Jamie, this is Simon," I blurt out. Yes, that's good. The less I have to lie, the better. "He's my friend. And the lawyer my brother and I have been meeting with."

That's the only explanation I can think of. The only one that's believable. Simon can pass as a lawyer. And he's also one hell of an actor, seeing as he smiles at Jamie the second I lie about who he is.

"It's nice to meet you," he smiles at him but before I get a chance to turn around and see how the hell is Jamie reacting to all of this, Simon looks at me. I can just barely see some hidden emotion in his eyes. "Zoe, do you have a moment? We need to talk." He tells me, dead serious. I am in trouble. Big trouble.

"Yeah, sure," I nod my head, hoping that I do not look as if someone has a gun pressed into my bag. I walk outside; I don't invite Simon in. I trust the guy but I don't want Jamie to be around for this talk. I close the front door as I walk onto the porch, doing my best to ignore Simon's stare.

"I have so many questions but they will have to wait," he sighs. At least I'm not getting a lecture straight away although I can bet my life on not escaping it. "I'm telling you, the guy's in New York. We need to talk to him. If anyone knows anything about doppelgängers and werewolves, it's him. While I can help you, I can't talk instead of you. You need to return to New York." He tells me.

Me being here isn't practical. I have realized that when I had to travel to New York and back; the work I do is much more efficient if I am focused on it, if I am there, close to the material. Theo and Jess would probably welcome my help since there's only so much I can do via email.

Jamie is the best distraction I could ever ask for but that's the problem. At this point, I can't afford to have such a distraction. Now is not the time for me to enjoy a romantic break, despite how much I might need it. I can't have this. I need to do other things and I need to do them in order to have a chance for moments like these. I need to be alive, in one piece and safe. Then I can think of a relationship.

"We need to leave as soon as possible?" I ask Simon, sighing when he nods his head; of course we have to leave at once. It was a stupid question to ask. "Could you please just… leave for a little while? I need to have a conversation and I don't really need an audience for it." I mumble, half expecting him to refuse and to tell me that I'll have to deal with him being here.

"I'll go and… grab a cup of coffee or something," he agrees. "Call me when you're ready to go."

Simon leaves and for a minute or two, I stand on the porch alone, thinking how I'm going to break this to Jamie and how many questions I'll have to answer. I can't keep doing all that's in my power to avoid responsibility. It's time to face it.

"Is everything okay?" Jamie asks as I walk into the living room; I can actually see genuine worry on his face. He really is worried about me, he cares for me. And I don't know why it's so difficult for me to accept that. I should be over the moon! I should be beyond happy that such a smart, funny, good looking man has feelings for me. Anyone sane would be overjoyed.

"No, not really," I mumble. Once again, if I am going to lie, I need to stick to the truth as much as I possibly can. "I have to go to New York again and this time, I'll probably have to stick around for a couple of days. I'm afraid our little trip is going to have to come to an end." I mumble. I could suggest that he should stay here, but that would be a bad idea. I would trust him with the house, it's not that. The big problem is that I have no fucking clue when I'll be able to get back.

"I had a feeling that was going to happen soon," he sighs. I'm not going to lie, I was expecting a little more frowning and a few extra questions. "We can only ignore the real life for so long. When do you have to leave for New York?" he asks.

"Soon," I mumble, not feeling comfortable with saying 'as soon as you're out of here'. "Today."

"In that case, I'll pack my bags," he sighs as he gets of off the sofa. "I should be done in 10."

"Yeah, but… hey, Jamie," I pull him by the hand. He doesn't struggle; when I put my arms around his waist, he lowers his head and looks down at me. He doesn't want to leave, I can see that much. "I did not want this to end as soon as it did. I would be happy with staying here… for a longer time."

"I know," he forces a smile my way. "However, we got this reality check right on time."

"I hope you realize that we will do this again," I smile up at him. "I'm not done with you and Hamptons."

"Oh, I hope so."

He kisses me, making me forget about all the other bullshit. But only for a moment. One tiny moment.

* * *

I'm a talker. I don't like that about myself but I really am a talker. Not a Caroline lever talker but there can be moments when I absolutely refuse to shut up.

Simon knows that side of me very well. I've known him longer than I know Jess. Almost 30 fucking years. And for a bigger part of those 30 years, I absolutely refused to shut up. The happy, talkative Zoe is the Zoe he knows. I imagine this is quite a change for him.

After a discussion with Jamie, in which he refused to take my car back to Mystic Falls, I said goodbye to him as he was leaving for the train station. The moment he got into the cab, I called Simon and told him to come meet me at the house. I got into his car, leaving my own behind and I didn't say a single word since. We are minutes away from New York and neither one of us spoke a single words since we got into the car. That's not how it normally works with the two of us.

At least the smooth jazz on the radio made it more comfortable.

"I've told David that I'm coming over for a visit," Simon breaks the silence. "I didn't tell him what the whole thing is about. I want to leave that up to you. I don't know how much information you'd feel comfortable with sharing." He tells me.

"Thank you."

I don't one some random vampire to know too much. It's bad enough as it is, with Katherine knowing more about my past than I do. It's a bad situation and also, it isn't exactly normal. I don't want to buy someone the paint and stand in place as they draw a gigantic target on my back. Reveling too much to a man I have never even met would be a rookie mistake and I don't make rookie mistakes.

"Zoe, that guy's human," Simon tells me. And here it is; the thing he wanted to say the moment he saw Jamie in my house. I can tell, it's been killing him ever since. It's time to get ready for the judgmental part of this ride. "I can't even begin to tell you how dangerous that is."

"Simon, I've been a vampire for about 30 years," I mumble, staring directly at the road before us. I even sound uninterested. "I think I know very well how dangerous everything can be."

"Zoe, you can't be with a human," he shakes his head. "It's dangerous and it never ends well for them."

"Are you trying to tell me that you have never been with a human?" I ask. I hate hypocrisy. If he was some sort of saint that had never done the things I am doing now, he might have been able to get away with it. But I know very well he's been with a couple of humans, even in the last 20 years, let alone in his entire life. He doesn't have the right to judge me for the same things he had done.

"Not for longer than one night I haven't," he corrects me. Okay, I can't fight him on that. It's well known that having anything serious with a human is the worst idea ever in the history of ideas. I did think Stefan and Elena were a bad idea for a good reason. Then I went on and did almost exactly the same thing; possibly even worst, seeing as Elena is well aware what Stefan is. She made a choice and Jamie doesn't even know he has one. I talk about hating hypocrisy and here I am, a hypocrite. "Zoe, please tell me it's not serious between you and the guy. It can't be, it's…"

"Bad?" I finish in his stead. "Stupid? Dangerous? Unfair? Don't you think I don't know that? Don't you think it's not bothering me? God, for the first time in my entire life, I have a chance to be selfish and I take it! And what do I get in return?"

"Zo, are you in love with him?" Simon asks me, looking wide eyed. Is it so difficult to imagine that I would actually have feelings for someone? Has my entire life been a show of 'oh, look at me, I'm Zoe and I run away from love and commitment in all shapes and forms'? Simon knows me well and he looks more than shocked at the very thought of me actually feeling love for someone.

I've managed to make myself a cold hearted bitch in the eyes of others. Good job, Zoe. Good job!

"I'm not in love with him," I sigh in defeat. I almost wish I was; it would make all of this a little bit easier to deal with. "But I really like him. For the first time in my life, I actually properly like someone."

"If you're going to fall in love for the first time, you have picked the wrong fucking guy."

"Oh, just shut up!" I snap. I can't tell if he's saying it because his vampire senses are tingling and he doesn't want to see me hurting someone I truly have feelings for, or if it is because he is angry that it is not him. Simon and I had a thing and we had it for a very long time. It's been going on pretty much since the moment we met. But it was never the real deal and he knows that. The problem is, he tried to make it a big deal a couple of times. I would always be fair, take a deep breath and explain that I can't change who I am or what I want, not like that. He would accept it and a couple of years later, he would try to make it a big deal again. And here I am now, feeling that way towards someone else.

The thing is, Simon was never in love with me, not really. We just had a thing. A think that has been dead for more than a year. We were never exclusive, not even close. He would sleep around and so would I. We just kept returning to each other every now and then. If he was in love with me, I would choose my words with more care. I can't take him seriously if I know he doesn't really care.

Simon just needs someone. Simon doesn't deal with loneliness well and he is alone most of the time. I am more than happy to rescue him from it, but not like I did before. Things are different than they were before and he will just have to accept it. I know I have, even if I don't particularly enjoy the change.

A few minutes later, Simon does the impossible: finds a parking spot in New York City. Illegal one, of course, but vampires don't care.

"We're here?" I ask in surprise, looking through the window at the building before us. It's just a regular Brooklyn building, similar to the one before it and similar to the one that comes after it.

"What were you expecting, a dungeon?" Simon asks. I hate to admit that he's kind of right.

"Well, if there ever was an occasion to expect a real life Dracula…" I mumble. We were going to see a mystery, 700 year old vampire. Yes, I am expecting a dungeon and a coffin and I don't feel guilty about admitting it. The last thing I'd expect is that this mystery vampire would live in a regular flat.

"He's not Dracula, Zo," Simon tells me through laughter. "He's just a regular vampire. Only a bit older than us," he tells me. I don't care what he says; I'm still expecting Gary Oldman to show up. Or, maybe, I am hoping for Gary Oldman to show up; that would certainly make it interesting. "Look, I'm gonna go knock on his door and give him a heads up. You wait here, okay? I think you'll be able to hear it all."

"Yeah, yeah," I agree. I have my doubts on whether he should get a heads up, but Simon is the one leading the cavalry now; it's his call to make. Besides, it's not like I don't have five minutes to spare.

Simon gives me a nod before he walks inside the building; I stay outside. Leaning next to the door, I pay close attention to what's going on inside, hoping to catch a part of the conversation. It isn't easy, given the noise here on the street, but as soon as the two start talking, I think I'll be able to hear it.

I can hear Simons' footsteps, and that's the proof; I can listen in on this conversation. I can also hear him knocking twice on the door. Now we wait, the both of us.

"Simon?" I hear a man's voice. "Where the hell have you been hiding, I haven't seen you in ages?"

"Hey man." Simon laughs and I hear hits; I imagine one of them is hitting the other as they hug.

"How have you been, what's up? You said you needed some help, right?" The guy asks him and once the door behind them closes, it becomes a bit too difficult for me to hear in detail; David has one hell of an isolation system.

I underestimated him; I can't hear a single word. Annoyed, I light a cigarette, hoping it would calm me down. I stand here, leaned on the building, waiting for some information; for all I know, Simon and his old friend will start off by having a beer, and a little chat, reminiscing the old times.

Simon wouldn't do that to me; he's that kind of guy. As judgy as he is, he's also a perfect gentleman.

I am almost done with the cigarette when I heard footsteps. Seconds later, Simon walks out.

"Follow me. I told him we needed his help," he informs me. It feels as if I am being summoned by his butler; it's all very formal and what not. I ignore the feeling and just follow Simon in the building and up the stairs. He walks into an apartment and I follow him, surprised to find that I am not stopped at its doorway; I walk into a large, modern apartment; most of it is white, with a little dash of wood and black, here and there. A man walks into the hallway, and for a moment, I am blank.

I might have been expecting Gary Oldman and I'll admit, I am slightly disappointed that he's not in front of me, but damn, this man is a good looking man. With dark, long curly hair and at least 6 feet, he doesn't need to be Gary Oldman to catch my attention. Simon should have given me a heads up.

His eyes go wide, just like mine do at the sight of him.

"Oh my God," he stutters and slowly, a smile grows on his face. "Where the hell have you been?! I thought you were dead!" He shouts as he runs to me; he pulls me in for a hug and I look to Simon over the Simon's shoulder, completely confused by this turn of events. I've never seen him before. And he's starting to creep me out a little bit.

"Um, yeah, that's one of the problems we have," Simon mumbles, making David let go of me and look at him in confusion. "Whoever you think she is, she's probably not... that person. David, this is Zoe. Zoe, this is David." he introduces us awkwardly. I don't think I've ever been in such an awkward situation, ever before in my life. And in all that awkwardness, I lift my hand up and wave at David.

"Zoe?" He asks in disbelief, looking directly at me.

"Yup. Pleasure to meet you. I like your place, by the way." I add.

"You have a lot of explaining to do." David tells Simon in a warning tone, staring him down.

* * *

It wasn't a particularly enjoyable conversation. Neither is the silence we are sitting in.

It's clear that David needs a moment to process this and he's using too much time, too much for my liking. But I don't have a right to complain, do I? He thought I was Cleo. When he uttered those words out, I thought I was going to cry, out of pure anger. I didn't. However, explaining to him that I am not Cleo was a challenge on its own. And now, he needs a moment. I can't blame the guy.

"It's unbelievable," David comments, finally breaking the silence. "You look exactly alike. I can't even describe how much you look alike. You two are the same person." He shakes his head. It looks as if he is expecting me to drop the act and say that I actually am Cleo and that I'm just messing with him. I remember the look, because I've seen the exact same look on Stefan, when I claimed that I have never seen him before in my life. It's nearly identical.

And after seeing Katherine in person, once I was pretty familiar with Elena and her face… I can't blame him, just as I can't blame Stefan.

"Yeah, I know. I mean, I've seen a very old photo of her," I explain, remembering the photo that scared the life out of me. "If I didn't know any better, I would think it was me. But yeah, it's not me. Cleo and I are two completely different people." I tell him.

"Are you related? I mean, how did it happen?" David asks me.

"I'm not sure. For obvious reasons, that's a pretty good guess, but… I don't know for sure. And I can't exactly ask her about it either. You were right earlier, I'm afraid. She is dead. She's been gone for a while now." I explain, hoping he doesn't take it too hard; I've never been good at breaking bad news.

"I had a feeling that was the case," David sighs, rubbing his head in annoyance. "Cleo wasn't one of those people who just went off the grid. That wasn't her style. If she did fall off the grid, she'd be back soon enough. After not hearing from her for decades, I've managed to put two and two together."

"Can you tell me more about her?" I ask, my curiosity getting the best of me. "It sounds like the two of you were quite close, and I would like to know more about her." I tell him. Stefan couldn't give me more information, even if he wanted to; the two were barely even friends. David could be a different story.

"Cleo was crazy, I'll tell you that," David chuckles, looking as he is reminiscing old times. "She was very young. I don't think she was a vampire for more than ten years. I met her here, in New York. That's a nice lesson, kids," he adds, looking at me, and then at Simon, talking like some sort of a teacher. "No one will ever be as interesting as the people you will meet here, in New York." He tells us.

"What else can you say about her?" I ask. I know I might be pushing it right now, but it's something I need to know; it's been bugging me ever since I first found out about Cleo. Our physical resemblance is actually not the thing that bothered me as much. Yes, we look exactly the same. But it's not like she will show up in my life, pretending to be me. Elena isn't as lucky. Of course, it bothers me that someone, somewhere, existed and looked exactly like I do; more than one person, apparently. It's not easy to come to terms with that. But it's their personality that is making me ask questions.

We look the same. But are we the same? Do I have the same personality Cleo had? Or am I the same as the girl before her? Maybe we are complete opposites? At the end of the day, looks are just looks and with that I can live. What I don't want to hear is that I have the same personality as they had. With all this shit being thrown at me from all possible directions, at least I deserve to be my own person.

"She was all over the place," David tells me, smiling. "I don't think I've ever meet someone so bubbly, with such energy. And I don't mean vampire energy. She had that too, but amplify it by a hundred, and you'll get Cleo. She was always all over the place. I wondered if she ever slept at all." As James talks, I already see I am NOT like Cleo. I like my sleep very much. There are moments when I'm so full of energy I bounce off the walls, but most of the time, I'm just half dead. The girl he's describing sounds more like Caroline than she sounds like me, which is a relief. "She was very loud and funny too. Charming as hell. She could melt even the most frozen hearts." He tells me. Again, one more thing I do not have; the ability to melt frozen hearts. Judging by what David is telling me, Cleo and I are very, very different. I would lie if I'd say I don't feel a little bit of relief because of it.

"She was beautiful too, but you already know that." David tells me and I frown at him.

"Thanks. I guess." I say, making both him and Simon smile.

"She can't take compliments." Simon explains to his friend.

"Did she ever get into any trouble? What else can you tell me about her?" I ask him, turning the subject back to my vampire doppelgänger; I don't need to hear Simon detailing my flaws to this guy.

"No trouble at all. Everyone loved her. She was always surrounded by friends. I don't think she had a family when I met her and she did not mention anyone to me. If you want to try and connect her to your family tree, I won't be of any help; Cleo was pretty secretive, and she didn't talk much about her background. You could try and dig, but I'm not sure you'll find anything. She was very secretive and she didn't leave trails behind her. I don't think she was hiding something; I just don't think she wanted it all in the open, easy for everyone to see."

"From my experience, not leaving trails usually means you're trying to hide something." I point out.

"Yeah, but you didn't know her," David chuckles. "That girl couldn't harm a fly. She hated hurting humans. She was one of the first vampires that I've known who switched to blood bags alone."

"Good for her." I mumble. So, we do have that in common. I suppose that's something I can live with.

"Do you know who killed her?" David asks me and I exchange looks with Simon. "You said she was dead. Now, heart failure is off the table. So… do you know who killed her?" David persists.

Should tell him the truth or not? I don't really want it to be common knowledge. On the other hand, that information wouldn't hurt me; it could only hurt Katherine. And why would I want to protect her? After all that she had done to the people I care for, why in hell would I do anything to try and protect her? Whatever awaits her at the end of the line, she deserves it.

"Another vampire," I sigh. "Katherine Pierce, to be precise." I wasn't really expecting a reaction; David seems like a smart guy. Not to mention that anyone with a functioning brain could guess that there was a vampire involved in Cleo's demise. I was expecting to see sadness or confusion, but I sure as hell wasn't expecting to see his eyes go completely wide.

"Katerina killed her?" David asks in a flat tone; Simon and I jump up at once.

"You know her?" We ask him at the very same time.

"Of course I know her!" David shakes his head. "Everyone knows her but not everyone likes to admit it. I can't believe she killed Cleo! I'm gonna kill the bitch as soon as I lay eyes on her."

"Yeah, well, stand in line. Many of us are hoping to have the honors." I sigh. Unbelievable. Katherine is connected to everything. Every single problem we have, everything we discover, she is either in the center of it, or a part of it. The bitch is connected to everything! "She's in Virginia right now, if you're looking to go on a road trip." I add, kind of hoping he'd decide to end her, once and for all.

"What do you know about her?" Simon asks, taking over the role of the one with a bunch of questions. "She has killed Cleo and she also knew one other of Zoe's doppelgängers. She's connected to Zoe. Can you tell us anything about her?" Simon asks. Maybe David will help us more than any of the old books we managed to find? At 700 years old, he has to have a lot of information in this head of his.

"I'm sorry, I don't know much," he shakes his head at us. "She came here from Europe. She's younger than me, I know that. She's a bitch, but you already knew that too. And I know she's running."

"Running from what?" I ask, confused.

"Not what," David shakes his head, looking amused. "Who. She's running from the original family."

"The what?" I ask, getting more confused by the second.

"The original family," David tells me, looking at me as if this something I should know all about. "Simon? No history lessons for your vampire girlfriend? Shame on you." He jokes.

"I'm not his girlfriend but that's not the issue here. Who the hell are the original family?" I ask.

"Where do you think we started from?" David asks. Great, now I look stupid. Perfect!

"The original family is the first family of vampires," Simon explains. "They are the first ones who turned, and they are the ones who made our kind. I come from them, you come from them; if we were to trace any of the vampires, and they'd all lead back to them, all of our bloodlines. They are the first vampires and they are very, very old. They are also a legend. They don't exist." Simon concludes.

"Don't they?" David challenges him. "Because here I am, looking at the exact same copy of my dead vampire friend, who just told me that she has more doubles as well. If that kind of thing can exist, who's to say that there is no such thing as the original vampires?" James asks him and his reasoning actually makes sense. Who are we to claim that something isn't real? We are fucking vampires!

"Yeah, but someone, somewhere would know something about them, wouldn't they?"

"What if they do, but chose to keep their mouths shut?"

"David, that's an urban vampire legend, and you know it."

"No, it's not. How do you think we became what we are, huh?"

"Stop it!" I snap, and both of them shut up, looking at me in surprise. "Real or made up, it doesn't matter. Let's say they're real. And Katherine's running from them. Even if they're not real, she's still running from something, right?" I ask, and David nods. "Okay. That's more than we knew this morning. So, why is she running from the original family? Or whoever it is that she's running from?" I wonder.

"She had crossed them. That was all she ever told me." David admits.

"So, she told you she was running from them specifically?" Simon asks in disbelief.

"Yeah, she did."

Okay. Okay. This is new. An original family of super old vampires. I've heard of weirder things? Right? It doesn't sound impossible. I'm a fucking vampire, I'm not allowed to question the impossible.

On the other hand, is it so difficult to imagine Katherine making that up? The bitch is a professional liar; she has been lying her entire life! Her lying about something like that is absolutely possible, if not unavoidable!

We don't have much but we have a lead. And whether this original family thing is real or not, we know that Katherine has been running away from someone. And that will have to be good enough for now.

* * *

"I've been a vampire for about 30 years and for the bigger part of those 30 years, all four of us have been hanging out. And not once did you even consider mentioning the original family?" I ask Simon. He's in for a massive lecture. Not just me, but Theo and Jess as well. They, just like me, had no idea of anything called the 'original family'. After spending the whole night, going through books _again_ , we found nothing and all three of us are pissed. And our anger is directed towards Simon.

"Zo, I didn't mention it because I don't believe in it. It's a myth. An urban vampire legend."

"Even so, don't you think it would make an interesting conversation topic or something?" I ask as I light another cigarette. "I don't know, Simon. David is like, super old. And he seemed pretty convinced that they are real and that Katherine was running from them."

"He also thought you were pulling his leg when you asked him about werewolves." Simon points out. Okay, that is a fair point. David did burst out laughing when I had asked him about them. When a 700 year old vampire laughs in your friends, you change your tune; I acted as if I was actually joking. "He might know a lot, but he doesn't know everything. I think we should focus on the Katherine running away from someone, and not who she was running away from." He tells us.

"Present tense, Simon," I correct him. "Who she _is_ running away from."

"You think she's still running?" Jessica asks me.

"And you don't?" I frown at her. I've expected more, at least from her. These two idiots would not surprise me with anything. "The chick left everyone to believe that she had either burned in that church or that she was buried under it for more than 150 years. I don't know about you, but if I was running away from someone, faking my own death would be my first move."

"Okay, that does make perfect sense." Jess sighs.

"And who do you think she's running from?" Simon asks, sounding skeptical.

"Hmm, I don't know… maybe the original family?" I ask, watching as he rolls his eyes at me. "Look, it doesn't even matter. She's the one running from them, not us. I just have a very bad feeling that if she sticks around in Mystic Falls, we'll soon find out, firsthand, what it is that she's running from."

"The only way you could find it out is if you talk to her." Theo tells me.

"Yeah, like that would work."

"I know it won't. Do you have any other ideas?" he asks. The silence that follows his question is as flat as my own mood. This is only getting worse by the day. We're running in circles, chasing our own tails.

"This original thing is even more obscure than the werewolf thing." Jess snaps as she throws one of the books on the floor. "Does anyone feel as if we're blind, and in a very dark room, at that?"

"Me." I reply, raising my hand. "Still, I'd like to keep feeling the wall up, to find the switch."

"Guys, I'm telling you," Simon speaks up again, shaking his head. "It's a myth. I've been alive for more than 200 years. I've been a vampire for the bigger part of those 200+ years. If the original vampires were real, don't you think I'd know something more about it? Or that I'd even run into them?" He asks.

"Simon, no offense, but I think you were too busy playing the role of New York's vampire playboy with too much dedication. When would you find the time to study vampire history?" Theo asks him. My eyes go wide at Theo's comment; I used to be the feisty one of the family.

"Nice one, thanks," Simon snaps back. Jessica and I exchange a look; we'll have a man fight on our hands if they don't' shut up soon. "Nice to know my friend has such a high opinion of me."

"I'm calling it like I see it." Theo replies, raising his hands as if he was surrendering.

"Okay, both of you, cut it out," I warn them. "Now is not the time to start bickering. Again."

"We're all on edge," Jess supports me. "Deep breaths, tequila shots and go walk it off. But don't fight."

If we start bickering and fighting, we will put the noose around our necks. We won't have to wait for someone to do it for us. It's bad enough as it is. The least we can do now is to do our best to not let it get to us to the level where we would start fighting with people that are on the same team.

"Alright," Theo sighs. "That wasn't fair. Sorry. But you need to stop acting like all of this is made up, Simon," he tells him. I don't think I've ever seen Theo looking disappointed. That's not an emotion he has in his catalogue and if it was ever directed at me, I'm sure I'd remember. This is the first time I see it and it is directed at our friend. "Vampires are real. Witches are real. Even fucking werewolves are real. If all of that is possible, if we know for a fact that it is possible, how can we know for sure that the original family is a product of a vivid imagination? It's absolutely possible and you know it."

Simon doesn't say anything and I don't need an explanation; Theo is right. He is absolutely right. My baby brother understands this better than one of the most rational men I know. Then again, I don't know many rational men to begin with. If compared to Damon, a squirrel would be more rational, so Simon taking the title doesn't really say much about his character, or mind.

"Klaus." He mumbles.

"Klaus?" Theo asks him in confusion.

"That's the name," Simon sighs. "One of the originals is called Klaus, or so I've heard. He's called Klaus, if he even exists." He adds.

"Why haven't you said it before?" I ask, not even having the energy to be mad at him for keeping his mouth shut. In his defense, he didn't wait too long to tell us. And I am also glad that we at least have a name. A name that might be a lie, but it's still more.

"Well, as I have pointed out repeatedly, I don't believe in them," he reminds us. "And I didn't want to give you more material to waste your time on. I still think it'll be a waste of time, but you deserve to know. Apparently, he's the nastiest one of them. They are all very dangerous, but from the little I've been told, he's the worst one by far. Once again, I'll add that it's just a myth."

"A myth with a name." I point out.

"A myth nonetheless," he corrects me, before sighing and sitting down on the floor, grabbing one of the thickest books that were spread out over the floor, table and any other flat surface we could find. "Come on, we have a name to find."

Theo, Jess and I don't waste another second. We do have a name. Klaus.


	17. I'm So Going To Kill You

**Guys, thank you, thank you, thank you!**

 **I'm feeling more love for this story, which is all that matters!**

 **I'll update soon! Let me know what you think! :)**

* * *

I genuinely love New York City with all my heart. I was still a stupid kid when I picked it out as a place where I will go to and where I will build my life and my career. I could have gone to the other side of the country. Hell, if I had, my life would be absolutely and completely different. For one, I doubt I would even be alive, telling the tale. But I don't have to worry about that because I have picked New York, I met Damon in New York and I am still very much in love with New York, as I was on day one.

And the best thing about, by far, is our place. We got it a few years back and it is absolutely what we wanted. It is a dream house. Well, a building. Where, surprisingly and very conveniently, we don't have any neighbors. We took care of that with a few compulsions. One of the added bonuses is that the roof is ours to use. A rooftop overlooking New York City. Does it get any better than that?

It's on the rooftop that I find Simon. He made his escape earlier, having enough of our passive-aggressiveness while we were trying to find anything connected to the name he gave us. What we were doing was wrong; yeah, he should have told us before and yeah, we do have a right to get angry at him because of it, but it's not going to do us any good, will it? Knowing that, I approach him with two bottles of beer in my hands and once I stand next to him, close to the edge of the building, I hand him a bottle.

"Did you find anything?" he asks.

"Nope," I sigh before taking a sip of my beer. "We haven't had much luck in days. It would be unbelievable if we had managed to find something in the 15 minutes since you decided to hide here."

"I don't know if anything can be found in books anymore," he sighs, looking directly ahead of him, at the beautiful view of the setting Sun. "Unfortunately, the oldest and smartest vampire I know has nothing, so with me, you've reached a dead end."

"I think we've been at a dead end for a while now," I mumble. I take a deep breath, once again trying to convince myself that what I'm about to say is not a bad idea. "Thank you. Not just for the help. I mean, I'm very thankful for that as well but… thank you for not mentioning Jamie in front of them."

Ever since we met up with Jess and Theo, I have been waiting for Simon to spill the beans in my stead and comment, if not out me completely and tell them that I was shaking up with a man, a human at that. I couldn't focus on it, not with everything I have heard before. My mind was a mess, a mess of Cleo, Katherine and the original family but by the time all four of us sat together, I was petrified.

And Simon didn't say a single word. I'm sure he must have realized that Jessica and Theo have no clue about Jamie. He knows and he didn't say a single thing. I don't even want to know what would have happened if he had told them. As close as I am to both of them, there are some things I don't want my brother and my closest girlfriend to know about. This is one of them. It's bad enough on its own. It's bad enough that I have Damon and Simon thinking it is absolutely idiotic. I don't need another lecture, not from the ones who had never judged me before. I'm not ready to let them know. I don't know if I'll ever be ready but if they are to find out, I want them to find out at my own terms.

"I still haven't decided if that was a good decision or not."

"As far as I'm concerned, it is perfect. My opinion counts, doesn't it?" I ask him.

I don't know how much he actually likes me. It's been ages since he tried to see if there could be more between us and he doesn't exactly look like a puppy in love but… He could sabotage this. He knows my brother, he knows Jess even better. A relationship with a human wouldn't sit well with them. And I am wired to run away from any sort of pressure. He could end the whole thing with Jamie and me, if he'd only tell my brother and Jess. Who's to say that he won't do it?

"It does," he finally mumbles and I feel a weight fall off my shoulders. "But Zo, it's bad. And you know it all too well."

"I do," I reluctantly agree. Who likes admitting that they are wrong? Especially when it's something as important as this is. "Simon, I don't know if it's going to be… a thing that lasts. With all the shit that's been going on in my life lately, I don't know if I'll live long enough to make it last. And you know how bad I am with responsibility, with commitment. It could very well end up being too much for me. But as soon as we find a solution for this mess, the curse, the werewolves, my family's history… I'll go back to Mystic Falls, if only for a little while. And he's going to be there. If I'll give it a shot or not, I can't say. But I like him. And the last time I have liked someone was… well, nearly 30 years ago."

I liked him, it's not a lie. I really liked him, we hit it off immediately. I'd kill to keep him safe, I love the guy. I just don't love him the way he wants me to. Or maybe even the way he deserves to be loved.

"You do know that you can stay here, right?" he asks me. I can't bear to look at him, not when I know that he's saying the truth. "You could stay here and stay safe. All you think that you need… you can have it here. Your family is here. I am here. Your entire life is here. You can't keep risking that life to save people who might not be willing to do the same for you. Stay here, be safe. If you need a change, make a change. But don't risk your life while doing it."

"Simon, it's not that black and white," I sigh. I can understand that for an outside, it really looks like that. I wish it was like that from my point of view as well but it's not, it's really not. "I'm not just doing it for other people. I'm doing it to find out who the fuck I am. I couldn't do that here. Maybe I can do it elsewhere. Even if that makes me one of those stupid vampires that actually fell for a human."

What he needs to understand is that I would give all I have to make it simpler. God, I'd love to fall for him! He's a good guy, he's here and he's as undead as I am. It would make the perfect ending. I could live out my eternity by his side and all would be perfect. If it was meant to be that way, it would have been that way decades ago. My story's different. And I no longer have a say in it.

"We should probably go downstairs," Simon mumbles, not even trying to hide his maneuver to change the topic. "We still need to go through a lot of documents."

"We called it a day," I sigh, looking back at the last traces of the sunset. "We've had enough. You should go home, get some sleep. That's what we're going to try to do at least."

"Alright," he nods as he puts down the beer bottle to the ground. "Just so you know, Zo, New York will still be here. So will I."

As if I already hadn't been feeling like a complete bitch. I watch as he walks away and disappears through the door that would lead him to the hallway and out to the street. He sure does know how to make an exit. And how to make me feel even more guilt than I've felt before.

Your brain and your heart don't always work together; at times, they can't even communicate, let alone agree with one another. At this point, my brain and my heart were like an old married couple, who had finally decided to get a much needed divorce. My mind is trying to take custody of me and convince me to save my own ass, to try to build a life that I might end up enjoying. My heart is telling me to help those who need my help and fucking risk it. Jamie might not be the one I had been looking for, but my heart insists that I won't know if I give it a shot.

I'm a fucking adult. I'm 50 years old. They can't fight for custody if I'm a grown up, living on my own. And yet that's the situation I'm in. I have two choices and neither one of them is the right one. And it sucks.

* * *

Another day, another day of doing nothing but reading books.

At least tensions died down a little bit. We were all surprisingly quiet, which is not the usual case with our little group of four. With Simon and Theo bickering, with me possibly hurting Simon and with the possibility of an original family existing, I'd say we're handling this shit pretty good.

I am sulky. Sulkier than I normally am, that is. I've been away from Mystic Falls for a while and while I do not miss the place, I do miss the people. I've been texting Jamie, a few texts here and there, but he's hardly the only one I wish I could spend time with.

I wonder how much Damon wants to kill me, for leaving. After calling me 24/7 for a couple of days, he did not call me at all. Which in Damon's language means that he's very angry. And I wonder how much. I wonder if Stefan and Elena are back together or if they're reassuring themselves that a break up was a good idea. I wonder if Caroline's used to the vampire life, if Bonnie still hates vampires, if Ric and Jenna are still going strong and if Jeremy has found another vampire chick to fall for.

I still stand behind my excuse. If they were in real danger, Stefan would call. Damon would just call me to get rid of his negative energy. And I will not to be his mental punching bag.

"Guys, I think I have something," Theo mumbles, and Simon, Jessica and I all look up at him; we did not hear that sentence in a while now and my hopes are already 8,000 feet in the sky. "It is believed that vampires became what they are as a result of a spell; whether it was done on purpose, or by accident, it is believed that the existence of vampires can be contributed to witches." He reads out.

"Big deal, we already suspected that." Jessica snaps.

Understandably, she's not too happy with it being her kinds fault; she doesn't like vampires, not really. She just likes us enough to ignore the hatred for our kind. She might be in love with a vampire, but that doesn't change her feelings towards vampires in general. Witches hate us and they are sure it's for a good reason. Now, I'm beginning to wonder if we hate them for a good reason as well.

"Will you let me finish?" Theo rolls his eyes at his girlfriend and her little antics. When we don't say anything, he continues. "First written reports on vampirism appear in the 12th century. It is believed that a group of vampires, or, the original vampires, went on to spread their kind, whether it was by their own will or accident." He reads.

"So, it might have started in the 12th century, and original vampires might not be a myth?" I ask, putting the emphasis on the word might. It's nothing more than a guess; a solid guess, but a guess nonetheless.

It's literally the word form of what we've been thinking all along.

"At least it's something." Theo shrugs.

"That's it!" I say as I get up from the floor, and the three of them look at me in surprise. "I'm calling it. Day off. No more research, no more vampires, original vampires, Katherine or doppelgängers. I'm done for the day; if I stay here a minute longer, I might just burn the place down."

"So what do we do now?" Jessica asks me, wide eyed.

"Go out. Watch 'Jersey Shore'. Make lunch. Throw a party; whatever you want to do. I'm out, and you're going with me." I point to her. She shrugs, standing up from the couch. "The two of you can do whatever macho bonding thing you're into these days. We're off."

I love Jessica. One of the best things about her is that she's always up for whatever stupid spontaneous plan I might have. She never questions it; she just links our arms and joins me for it. It wasn't different now. We leave Simon and Theo looking slightly confused, as we step out into the Big City.

* * *

Sometimes, Starbucks coffee, a sunny day and some girl talk are the best cures to any problem. Even problems of vampire nature could be fixed, albeit temporarily.

"Okay, Zo, we've been talking about this for years," Jessica sighs, turning to face me as we sat down on a patch of green, in the middle of Central Park; public enough so that we are not cut off from the other people and private enough to keep our conversation private. "You should just go to London, compel Morrissey and get it fucking over with!"

"You think I haven't thought about it? Don't you remember? I had ordered you to drag me away from him if I made a move to do something like that; last time he played in New York, Theo and you literally pulled me by the hand." I recall, with a big smile on my face, as she chuckles. "It wouldn't work. They would lose the magic they had. Compelling is not the solution for anything, let alone "The Smiths". I am, however, seriously considering making Liam and Noel have a heart to heart talk." I add jokingly.

"Zo, I'm afraid not even compulsion could fix that." she tells me, and even though I hate it, I laugh.

"I know, I know. It's not a superpower. I remember Damon telling me about it for the first time; it really did seem like a superpower. I guess I thought I'd end up doing some good work, like, I don't know, compelling people out of war or millionaires to donate more to charity. I don't know, stuff like that. It did not take me long to figure out that compulsion doesn't really work like that. It's almost as if it's worse to compel it out of them, then to watch them not give a shit." I explain.

"I think all of us have that superhero moment, at one point or the other; usually at the beginning. Especially you vampires. It's hard to live with knowing that you are almost invincible."

"Until we realize that we're monsters?" I ask through laughter.

"I don't see you that way." Jess shakes her head.

"Jess, you hate vampires and you know it. You don't need to act differently to avoid hurting my feelings. You hate us and that's okay. After all, how would you describe a creature that needs blood to survive?"

"As a creature that had no choice. Or as a creature who didn't know any better." she tells me. What she is saying makes sense, I'm not trying to deny it; but I still would consider us to be monsters, in a way.

"And what about those who did it out of boredom?" I ask her after a few seconds of silence.

"I'd say they fit into the "didn't know any better" category," she replies with a small smile. "You are not a monster, Zoe. Neither is your brother, no our friends."

Once again, there is no black and white, there really isn't. I want to be one of the good ones, I want to be one that doesn't harm people but even being around them, I am putting them at a great risk. Even with the blood bags, I'm harming them; I might be stealing the blood from someone who might need it urgently. I might be risking someone's life in order to feed myself. Yeah, it's for survival, but still…

It's difficult to not see yourself as a bad guy, when ultimately, you are a bad guy. Not because of who you are deep down but because of what you do, even if you don't have any other options.

"Okay. Do you like animals?" Jessica asks and I nod my head, not really sure why she is asking such a trivial question in the middle of a serious discussion. "So do the humans. Most of them, at least. We all love animals, but at the end of the day, most people still eat them. Vegetarians don't. I guess you could call a blood bag vampire a vegetarian vampire. You like humans, you want to keep them alive, but you also feed. Yes, you sometimes harm, and yes, it hurts but at least most of you try to keep them alive. It's a food chain, Zoe. It's just that humans are not on the top, as they think they are."

She does have a point, to a certain extent. Then again, it's still very black and white. She doesn't mention the middle ground and unfortunately, there's a massive grey area in between.

"I met a guy in Mystic Falls."

Why? Why can't I just keep my mouth shut?! Why do I feel the need to be emotionally slutty?

"Now that's the quality content I came for!" Jessica laughs. Oh good god, she has no idea. She has no clue about the size of the truck that's about to hit her. "I'm all ears!" she orders me.

It's still not too late for me to rescue myself. I can still lie. Can I, though? To Jessica? To one of two people I make an effort of not lying to, ever? I don't think I can.

"See, there's a little issue," I mumble, trying to soften the blow before I smack her with my confession. She is still smiling as she eagerly waits for details. "His name is Jamie. He's super tall. Blonde. Yeah, I know," I mumble when her eyes go wide; it's all but common knowledge that I normally don't have a thing for blonds. "Very smart and funny too. And he's human."

I know that she needs a moment to process the information. Maybe even a bit more than a moment. As she stares at me, wide-eyed, I fidget and I wait. I know this is not something she can accept without giving it a second thought. No one would, certainly not someone as opinionated as Jessica.

"Okay…" she mumbles, looking down at her hands for a moment. "Do you really like him?" she asks.

"I… I don't know," I admit, shrugging my shoulders. "I don't think I'm in love with him, or anything as strong as that. I like him. He's really nice and he can give me a proper laugh. I like spending time with him but I don't think I know him well enough to say if it's something more than that."

"Good," Jessica sighs, giving me a small smile. "It's about time you find someone good."

"Um, Jess… You did hear the part when I say that he's human, right?" I check, just in case.

"Oh, I did," she reassures me, letting out a slightly hysterical laughter. "And I could give you at least a hundred reasons as to why that could end up being a horrible match. But you already know that. And I don't think a lecture from me could help you, or change your mind for that matter. So I'm choosing to focus on the fact that you actually properly like someone and see a possible connection, even if it's but a hint." She tells me. How many times had she proven herself to be the best friend one could ask for?

"But I don't know if it'll be like that or not," I admit. "Even if I decide that it is worth the try, too many things are not working in our favor. For one, I'm a vampire and he is not. He also has no idea that I am a vampire, by the way," I add, just in case she thought this was like the relationship she and Theo have, or Stefan and Elena, where the human partner is well aware that their other half is essentially a blood sucking monster. "And he's in Virginia, while I'm here. Even if I go back there and stay until everything is sorted, I don't think I'll ever have a desire to permanently relocate away from New York. And I could never ask of someone to leave their entire life behind either."

"You're thinking way too ahead," Jess jumps up at once. "You're an over thinker, that's what you do. And this is not a situation when overthinking will do you any good. Don't think that far into the future; you don't even know if you like him properly, let alone if you'd want him to move to New York. Don't think about shit like that. Focus on right now, on finding out how much you actually like him and focus on not killing him in the process. That is literally the only thing that matters right now."

"Yeah, but I am lying to him," I remind her. "I can take my time and find it all out and then I do what? I tell him the truth and he freaks? Or do I never tell him the truth and lie to him 24/7?"

"Or you tell him the truth and he doesn't freak?" she suggests.

"He might be a writer with one hell of an imagination but in real life, he's more practical than that," I sigh. He gave me the impression of a man who would not believe in supernatural. "I don't know if-" I am interrupted by my cell phone. My mouth drops when I pull it out of my pocket and see whose calling. "It's Stefan." I tell Jess, whose eyes go wide at once.

"Answer it!" she orders and I listen to her at once.

"Stefan. Hi." I say. That was the best I could do.

"Hey, Zoe. How are you?" Stefan asks; okay, that's a good side; he's not yelling, he's not out of breath. It's a bit weird to hear his voice. I haven't even realized how familiar it had become to me; even if I did not have caller ID, and his number did not flash up on my screen, I would have recognized him at once.

"Good, good. How are you? How is everything?" I ask him. I don't know if he knows that Ric had filled me in on, well, basically everything. I have trusted Ric, yeah, but for all I know, he went behind my back and told them I wanted information. Which wouldn't exactly harm me in any way but it would definitely harm the trust I have in Ric.

"I'm good. We're all still alive," he tells me; I breath out I sigh of relief. With them, you can never know. "But, um, we're up to something." He tells me; I could tell that he is choosing his words carefully now.

"Up to what?" I ask in a flat town, already knowing this is not going to end well.

"We're going to kill Katherine."

"Uh… Okay?" I say, not sure what else would be a fitting response. I always saw killing her as an option, but I never really thought that Stefan and Damon would be up for it; first love and all that crap. When Damon would talk about staking her and watching her burn, he was full of shit. I don't think I am wrong about it; that wasn't the truth, not back then. Now, apparently, things might have changed.

"It's an all hands on deck situation. Everyone's in it, except Elena. She knows nothing about it."

"You do realize that it will probably take her an hour to figure out that you're up to something, right?" I ask him. Elena's a tough cookie and she's a smart one too; Damon's not a particularly good actor, and based on the time I spent with Stefan, neither is he. It won't take her long to put two and two together.

"I do. But an hour might be all we need." Stefan tells me.

"Okay. So since you're calling, I'm guessing you need one more hand on the deck," I say. The night I left, I told him to call me if they need my help; I ordered him not to avoid it, to not try to spare me. When I said that, I knew all too well that a day would come when he will call. And that day is today.

"I'm not asking you, I'm just informing you," he corrects me and I roll my eyes. "We can do it without you. When I said that everyone but Elena is in on it, I meant it. It can absolutely be done. Of course, you would be of help too, but that is your choice to make. No one would hold it against you if you decide to sit this one out." He tells me.

"Yeah, no one but myself," I sigh. I think he knows me well enough to know that I would never forgive myself if I do decide to sit this one out and something was to happen to one of them. "When are you doing it?" I ask him. Is he possible that he actually thinks I would be willing to stand on the side, wait to hear if they had made it out alive? If that's what he thinks, he doesn't know me at all.

"Tonight." He tells me. My eyes go wide at once.

"Tonight? Are you crazy? Why the hell didn't you call me earlier?" I ask him as I do the math in my head; if I leave now, and if I go above the speed limit, I might actually be in Mystic Falls on time. Or, I could always steal a helicopter; that would be affective if I actually knew how to pilot one.

"Actually, I almost didn't call you at all. It would have been nice to keep someone out of it." He sighs.

"Oh, shut up!" I snap in annoyance. "Your girlfriend might need you to save her and be the hero, but I don't. I'm not a damsel in distress and I'm terribly sorry if that disappoints you. I can make my own decisions but the problem is, I don't know if I can make it in time, Stefan. And in all honesty, I don't even know if I should do it either."

"It's completely up to you, Zoe. I'll let you know how it all goes if I don't see you tonight."

"Yeah, yeah, if you called me in time you would have had another vampire on your side!" I snap as I hang up the phone. How stupid is he? Why hadn't he called me on time? And if he really was trying to keep my ass safe, why did he call me at all? I don't need anyone else to protect me, and quite frankly, he doesn't need another person to protect! He's all over the place as it is! "Son of a bitch!" I curse as I throw my phone on the grass, ignoring the fact that I might end up regretting it later.

"What's happening?" Jess asks. I sometimes forget that she doesn't have vampire hearing.

"They're going to try to kill Katherine," I take a deep breath, trying to sort my thoughts and select the most important information. "And they're going to do it tonight. Tarzan and Jane over there have assembled the Avengers to kill the bitch."

"When are you leaving?" Jess asks. "Do we need to go back to our place right now?"

"How do you even know I'm leaving?" I ask, causing Jess to burst out in laughter.

"Zo, I know you better than you know yourself," she chuckles. "You're leaving. It's stupid and it's dangerous but you're doing it. That's what you do. And while it might seem useless now, it's going to get back to you. All the good that you've done. So don't rethink it. Don't overthink it. Just do it."

* * *

Joy Division is playing as I tap my fingers on the steering wheel, with my other hand hanging out of the window, holding a cigarette. I am trying to calm myself down but all I can think about is the difference between today and the first time I have decided to ride all the way to Virginia.

The first time I was driving down this same road, I was curious and a little bit worried; I wondered what Damon was up to and if I could actually save him from whatever it was. Now, I am silently freaking out. I am worried, a lot more worried than I was earlier. And this time, I'm scared too. Scared for Damon, scared for all the other people I started to care for recently, scared for myself.

Ignoring the speed limit, I drive fast, trying to figure out if I am late for the party or not.

Stefan said he'd call, but I am not ready to panic just yet. Maybe something happened, and he forgot. Maybe he was busy with something. Maybe it still wasn't over yet. Or maybe they're all dead. It's too early to panic; I'll do that if I get to Mystic Falls and realize that they needed my help after all.

Trying my best to keep my mind blank, I drive as fast as my car allows me to. The last thing I need right now is to think about what I left behind.

Theo and Jess understand. Theo might not have agreed with it, but he didn't try to stop me. I could see it on his face, when I first announced that I am leaving again, to help them kill Katherine. He was not happy about it and he had wanted me to stay but he didn't say it and he sure as hell didn't try to stop me. Jess was more relaxed than he was, but I know it doesn't sit well with her.

But that's what they do. They let me live my own life. Sure, they give advice and offer me an occasional sarcastic comment they were not asked for, but that's it. They know I have my own brain and even when it sometimes malfunctions, they let me use it, they don't try to change my mind and they don't stop me.

I don't know what I'd do without the two of them. And once again, leaving them is not easy. But that uneasiness and the notion that I would be so fucking lost without them, makes it easier to go through with this because I know that if I do it, I'll have a chance to see them again.

My heart raced a little bit when I passed the sign that informed me that I have just entered Mystic Falls; this time around, I don't have to stop and ask Matt Donovan for directions; I know exactly where it is that I'm going.

The town looks fairly empty; it's not even midnight and the weather is fairly nice; it takes me a few seconds to realize that there's probably another event going on somewhere. After all, the events in this town never really stop, do they?

As I drive onto the driveway of the Salvatore's house, I notice that the lights are off; I don't panic just yet, knowing that the plan might still be going on. I won't take every sign like the worst possible sign. Stefan told me that they are doing it tonight; they might be doing it as we speak.

I park my car and I walk into the house; as always, the doors are unlocked. When no one reacts on me walking into the house or when I turn on the lights, I realized that I was right. They're not here yet.

An urge to drive around and try to find them takes over me at once; I have to fight it down. Walking into the middle of their plan, whatever the plan is, might be a very bad move. It might be the thing that ruins the plan, the thing that blows their covers up. Not to mention that I have absolutely no idea where they could be. And even if I did know, I'm not that familiar with Mystic Falls. If they're not at the Grill, at the school, at Elena's, Caroline's or Jamie's place, I wouldn't be able to find them.

The only real thing I can do right now is to sit and wait for someone, anyone, to return.

They'd notice the lights and my car. They'd see them as soon as they got to the house. Once they get here, they'll know I've decided to pay them a visit. So I might as well just make myself at home.

I pour a glass of bourbon, I sit on the sofa and I stare at my phone, waiting for something to change.

An hour passes before I finally hear footsteps.

"Zoe?" I hear Stefan ask and wasting no time, I run to the front door; I run toward him, nearly jump on the guy as I hug him with all the strength I had in me. He's alive. "I told you we could do this." he tells me and I laugh as I rest my head on his shoulder, still hugging him.

"Still, I don't leave people hanging, Grumpy Pants," I chuckle as I pull away. "Is it over? Is she dead?" I ask him; he looks a bit too cheerful for someone whose plan didn't work but then again, he doesn't look too ecstatic either. With Stefan, it can really go both ways.

"Kind of."

"Umm, Stefan, she is either dead or she is alive. There's no middle ground here." I tell him, my mind already racing; is it possible that the two of them actually couldn't do it? That after all these years, all the pain and torture she put them through, they could not find the strength to jam a stake through her heart? In all honesty, I wouldn't be too surprised if that's the case.

That's why they needed me after all. I wouldn't have hesitated.

"Or, she could be locked up in the tomb, unable to leave it, ever." He offers.

"So, she's alive but she's gone?" I ask, feeling my smile widening, just as his is.

"Yeah. And the moonstone is with her. No one will break the curse. She won't hurt us. Any of us. Not again." He tells me. While I smile like an idiot, and he smiles back, I have a feeling something's off.

"Why do I have a feeling like you only told me the good part?" I ask him as we walk to the living room.

"Well, because I did. Tyler Lockwood triggered the werewolf curse tonight." He sighs. Well, shit.

"How did he do that?"

"The curse is triggered once they kill someone," he explains. "It was an accident, but Tyler caused it." Well, I found nothing about that in my research. Then again, most of what I managed to find about werewolves was related to movies and TV shows.

"How do you know that? And why hasn't anyone told me this?" I ask.

"Well, we didn't exactly chat every day, did we?" Stefan asks me, and I notice a hint of blame in his voice; I shrug as I fall back on the sofa, grabbing my drink again. I'm guilty. There's no use in denying that. "Damon managed to get it out of Mason Lockwood before he killed him."

"Wait, he did what?!" I snap.

"Oh, yeah. I forgot to tell you that." Stefan says with a guilty look on his face.

"Yeah, ya think?" I ask, trying hard to calm myself down. "How did that happen? What do we know?"

"Well, he had to do it, since Mason almost got us killed," Stefan tells me as he pours himself a drink. "So, Damon took care of it. Mason was in a deal with Katherine too; apparently, he was in love with her."

"Jesus, what is it with that girl?" I mumble in disbelief. "She's pretty; I'll give her that, but the rest…"

"Katherine has a charm no one can quite explain," Stefan tells me as he sits down next to me. For a moment there, I forgot I was talking to someone who must have seen a lot more in that girl. "She was trying to get the moonstone, apparently to break the curse or something. We don't know more than that. Then again, we don't need to, as both Katherine and the moonstone are safely locked away."

"Okay, I understand why you're worried about another werewolf running around town, but you and Tyler are hardly besties; there's more you're not telling me, isn't there?"

"I thought that having Katherine away might fix the relationship between Elena and me," he tells me as he sulks, looking into the glass in his hand. "It didn't. She's scared. And she has every reason to be."

"Not of you," I shake my head. "Stefan, you're like a hippie. If there's a vampire in this world she should never be scared of, it's you. And she knows it. She might be a bit freaked out right now, and I can't say that I blame her, but she'll snap out of it. She'll snap out of it and she'll get back to you in no time."

Oh, the irony is just incredible. Not that long ago, despite liking the Salvatore brothers well enough, I told Elena to stay away from the both of them, to stay alive. And now what I am doing? I'm reassuring him that she will be back. It might go against common sense but she _will_ be back. Elena and I have met only recently but with all that had happened since… I know her well enough to know she'd be back to him. She loves him. And she's a sucker for romance.

"Maybe you're right," Stefan shrugs. "At least she's safe now. That's all I need to know."

He's like a love sick puppy; it's adorable and painful to watch at the same time. I don't know if I'd like to see someone act that way around me. Simon might have been more into it than I was, but he was never dramatic about it. And Jamie doesn't strike me as the puppy dog type.

I was about to say something cheesy to Stefan, to make him feel a bit better, if that is even possible, when both of us hear the front door slamming; we both jump up in surprise.

"I'm so going to kill you." Damon's threatening voice carries all the way to the living room. I grin.


	18. Clara

**Here we go guys, here's a new one.**

 **Let's just say… things are really going to get interesting now.**

 **Don't forget to let me know what you think! :)**

* * *

In many ways, Damon is like a well raised dog. He will bark and bark but he will not bite. Despite making a promise to kill me, he ran over to me and pulled me in for a bone-crushing hug.

And now, we are in his room, having what can only be described as a sleepover party; he's leaned on the headboard and I'm sprawled across the bed, with a bottle of vodka between us.

We needed to have this kind of talk, we really did. Even before I left, there were so many thinks I didn't have a chance to talk to him about. I basically blindsided him with Jamie. Damon isn't the one for gossip but when it comes to his closed ones, he wants to know what's going on. I was expecting questions and I'm okay with that. But unfortunately, I was also expecting him to kill me the moment he sees me.

It wasn't awkward, not even for a minute.

"So, you really like this guy?" Damon asks. I turn my head to look at him and just nod. "How? Why?"

"He's a likable guy? He's funny? He's hot? I don't know, Damon," I roll my eyes. Those kinds of questions are just not easy to answer. Some feelings, you can't just put into words. Especially if they are not defined, which is the current situation with my feelings. "I guess that happens when you almost die in a burning building." I add.

"So, the only reason you have feelings for him is because you're selfish and don't want to die alone?"

"No!" I snap. "God, Damon, don't be an ass; now's not the time," I sulk, making him laugh. "I don't know if it's for selfish reasons or not. All I know is that I feel something, and it's not mad love."

"I know that." He tells me, sounding as confident as ever.

"Okay, how?" I ask in annoyance. "Do share your secrets with me, Damon all-knowing!"

"Because if it is mad love, you wouldn't be here right now." He calmly states.

"Ouch."

"Point proven," he nods his head. "You might be here because you love your best friend to the moon and back," He tells me and I roll my eyes; leave it to Damon to make it all about him. "You might be here for noble reasons, but Zoe, I don't give a shit about how noble you are; if it is mad love, you wouldn't be here. You wouldn't leave his side. You'd rather watch me burn and hell than spent one minute away from him."

"Okay, now you're exaggerating." I roll my eyes at him.

"Maybe a little bit, but I'm not off the beaten track," he tells me. "Zo, like it or not, it goes both ways; as well as you know me, I know you too. And if you could tell I felt something for Elena, I can recognize this too. I hate to break it to you, but you're having a crisis. That's all it is. A crisis. You almost died and it freaked you out. You almost died and you realized you were never really in love, and that freaked you out. To be fair, it's understandable. It would freak me out too. This might not be what you want to hear, but this nothing more than a crisis, and you, projecting. You felt empty and you rushed to the first person that could fill that hole. No pun intended. Ouch!" He yells when I smack him with all the strength I had in me. "That hurt!" He yells. We were having a beautiful moment, and he simply destroyed it.

"You deserved it," I tell him, not even feeling guilty; I know it hurt, I didn't hold back. "You might know me well, Damon, but you've never seen me like this. It's not fake. I feel something. I can't explain it, or define it, but it's not a simple crisis. I feel something for him." I tell him.

"Then why are you here, and not with him?" He asks me.

"Because he is human," I admit. "Being around him means that I am exposing him to danger. And that's a very shitty feeling. And it's not enough. Whatever it is that I am feeling, it's not enough. I do not trust him enough to tell him what I am and keeping it a secret is just not fair. And… what I feel for him now is just not enough to make me see him as a priority." I confess, taking a chug of vodka right from the bottle; now is not the occasion for me to be all ladylike.

"If you don't care for him enough to put him as a priority, you might as well not care for him at all."

I don't think that Damon ever said anything as smart as this. He is right; he is absolutely right. It's a change, seeing as I'm usually the one that's right in this friendship. But he is absolutely right. And that hurts. Hearing it like this, it actually hurts.

"You're right," I admit, despite it not being the easiest thing to do. "I guess I'll see where it goes. I am here now, but with Katherine gone, I don't know how long I'll stay. And I never was a big fan of putting my entire life on hold for a guy. Not to mention that he doesn't know the truth about me."

"Well, you can either trust him or keep up with the lie," Damon shrugs his shoulders. "I would tell you to lie, but I know how bad that can backfire. If you lie to him for a long time and he eventually finds out the truth, that would be the end of it. Having fangs wouldn't make a difference; you'd still be a liar."

"Damon, I can't just tell the guy that I'm a freakin' vampire!"

"That's because you don't trust him. You said it yourself, seconds ago! You don't trust him enough," he repeats my words. He's got me on that one. I did say it and I still mean it. As much as I would like for it to be different, I do not trust Jamie enough to share my biggest secret with him. I'm not willing to throw that away because I am still just getting to know him. Maybe once I get to know him a bit better, spend some time with him, I'll be ready to open up. "How can you trust him if you don't even want to spend time with him because you know you'd be putting him in danger?"

"Okay, what the hell happened to you while I was away?" I ask, completely ignoring the question he had asked; this is far more urgent. "Since when are you so wise and spiritual? I liked you better when you were a dick."

"Worry not, I'll be back to it soon enough," he reassures me and I start laughing, knowing he will fulfill that promise. "I think we should sleep. We have a long day tomorrow. Well, I do." He corrects himself.

"Isn't the gargoyle safely locked away in the tomb?" I ask; with Katherine gone, I thought it was over.

"She is, thank god," he confirms. "But I will still have a werewolf running around. I want to make sure he can keep it under control. And that he has no clue what we actually are. I forgot to ask you; did you dig up anything about your doppelgängers?" he asks. My mind flashes over the little information I have gathered; for a brief moment, I had managed to forget all about that. Now, I'm right back to it. At least it can now officially be my problem number one, with Katherine The Gargoyle being locked away.

"Nothing palpable," I tell him. There's nothing I am sure of; why waste his time if all I have our guesses? I could tell him all I know but what good would that do? "Why don't you just relax, now that all the drama is finally over? Let's spend a few days together before I go back home?" I suggest, seeing as I might be leaving pretty soon, if all the drama is behind us. After all, we didn't have a chance to have one proper, drama free, afternoon here in Mystic Falls.

"Because we still have little problems here and there." He tells me. Wow. Now he's responsible too.

"And knowing you, you'll probably have a new problem by tomorrow." I add.

"Shut up, don't jinx it." He snaps at me. I can only laugh, at the reasonable yet superstitious Damon.

"Alright, Mr. Responsible," I sigh, rolling off the bed, only to stand up on my feet before I even hit the floor. "Tomorrow, I will be cooking. Because that's what vampires do when they don't have to chase down crazy exes and the crazy exes of their best friends."

"Are you going to go all Martha Stewart on me?" he raises an eyebrow at me.

"Nah, not for good," I chuckle. "I'm just thinking that it would be a good idea to celebrate a bit. We still have a lot of shit to deal with but with Katherine locked away and hidden, we've solved our number one problem. It deserves to be celebrated. Maybe not a proper party, but a couple of us vamps and our favorite humans?" I suggest.

"Will you be inviting Jamie?" he laughs. He is officially back to being a dick.

"Fuck you, Damon," I state calmly. It's been decades since the time he could properly provoke me with comments like that. I know him, I can see it before it happens. Sometimes, I will say something and the moment the words leave my mouth, I already know he is going to comment and very often, I guess what kind of comment it will be. I was not expecting this one but it's going to take more than this to catch me off guard. "Only humans that are in on the secret are allowed. Are you going to invite Elena? Oh, shit, sorry… I should ask Stefan that, right?"

Payback's a bitch. Damon knows that, because the only thing I get in response is a middle finger and a frown. I laugh my ass off on the way to my temporary room.

* * *

Left – right, left – right. I dance around to the sound of 'You give me something' by Jamiroquai as I am cleaning shrimps; I'm making paella for lunch. I have managed to catch Stefan for about five minutes before he left for school; just enough to convince him that a celebratory late lunch is a perfect idea. He rolled his eyes at me, but I made him promise that he'll invite everyone. Well, everyone apart from Jenna, who still has no idea that half of us around her are vampires. I feel super bad for leaving her out of this, but since we're going to be celebrating the fact that we finally got rid of Katherine, it would be a bit difficult to explain the details to her.

Besides, if Jenna's not here, neither is Jamie. Seeing as he has no idea that I am back in Mystic Falls and as I have no intention to changing that, at least not today, it's a good thing.

I want to see him, I really do. I still text him, making it seem as I am still in New York, still drowning in paperwork. I want to go over to his place right now, but I know it's a bad idea and that's why I'm not doing it. If I keep it up this way, I will probably end it, despite not really wanting it to end.

I can't act for much longer, no matter how good I am. It isn't fair to him and I hate being unfair.

It's a nice feeling, doing a nice thing for our little Suicide Squad that just happened to be successful. I am excited to see them all. Even Jeremy! Hell, I can finally find a way to connect Bonnie to Jessica; I promised her that a while ago. We'll cover the details tonight.

I can't wait to see them, to talk to them. To make Elena see that dumping Stefan was a mistake. To see if Alaric is finally official with Jenna, to check if Caroline is handling her vampirism well. Plus, we're going to eat great food and drink fine wine. It doesn't get any better than that.

The best of Jamiroquai just added to the feeling. With Stefan at school and Damon being god knows where, doing god knows what, I am alone in the house; I am allowed to sing my heart out and dance with all the embarrassing moves I have in my catalogue.

As soon as I dump all the cleaned shrimp into water, I decide to take a break; with a cigarette between my teeth and a cup of coffee in hands, I shake it, as Outcast would say, like a polaroid picture.

My phone rings, and as soon as I see that it is Stefan, I turn down the volume just a little bit.

"Hey there, Grumpy Pants!" I answer the phone, sounding happier than I expected. "I've been meaning to call you. Does everyone like paella? I mean, not everyone likes sea food. Maybe someone is allergic? That would make me a party pooper. Can vampires have allergies?" I ask, frowning.

"Zoe, we have a problem." Stefan tells me once I stopped babbling.

"No. No, don't you dare. Absolutely not. Stefan, we don't have a problem, we have a celebration!" I snap at him. I knew it! I knew that something was about to go wrong; it's just a question of how wrong it actually got. I could have bet my life that we were not going to have one calm day. It sounded too good to be true the moment I first considered it.

"We can post pone the celebration until we find Elena, because she's missing." He tells me.

"What do you mean she's missing?" I ask. A teenage girl missing can mean she's just locked away in her room, sulking. However, with Elena Gilbert, it's bound to be a bit more than that.

"No one's seen her since last night. She didn't spend the night home, and her car is still at the Lockwood's driveway." He tells me. Okay, so she's not having an emo moment; she's actually missing.

"We need to find her."

"We already know where she is, but we have no idea who took her," he tells me. "Damon and I are going to get her."

"I'm coming with you." I tell him, already putting the shrimp back in the fridge, reminding myself to google how long they can stay there and remain edible.

"Zoe, I'm not sure a road trip with me and Damon is something you'd enjoy." He tells me.

"Look, I'm going. I can handle Damon, I can handle you, I'm sure I can handle both of you in a tight space. You need help, I want to help. Besides, you wouldn't be calling if you didn't want me there. Pick me up in ten." I say as I hang up on the man that is officially the rain on my parade.

* * *

Boy, how Grumpy Pants had a point.

Being in a car with him and Damon has to be a manner of torture.

The last place I want to be in is the backseat of Damon's car, as we are driving to Elena's rescue, with the two of them bickering. Yet here I am, doing just that. I have tried to ignore it, as much as I could. After a while, it stopped working, so I actually started listening, but that annoyed me even more. I wanted to put on headphones and turn up the volume impossibly high, but my vampire hearing ruined that plan before I even planed it. I had no choice; I had to listen in and now, we are thirty minutes in and I already feel a strong urge to claw my eyes out.

There is a thing I picked up on; a thing they didn't know I would pick up on. Before looking her away for good, Katherine told Damon that Elena's in danger and that she should run, because that's what she has been doing for years. Damon didn't give it much thought; obviously, because we are possibly rescuing Elena from that very danger. Stefan is annoyed and I can understand why; I'd be annoyed to. But while they bicker, I go back to what David had told me, when Simon introduced us.

Katherine told him, very specifically, that she was running from the original family, the family Simon refuses to believe in. Now she says it again, but she doesn't give names. Is it possible that she's been honest, for once in her life?

I don't say anything to Stefan or Damon. I keep my mouth shut as they continue with their bickering. I can't tell them if I'm not sure about it. If I tell them too soon, they will freak. Well, Stefan will freak and Damon would probably end up doing something stupid, like he usually does. And this could not be the original family, even if they are real. What are the chances? The original family, or that Klaus guy, is something very much obscure; I'll need more info if I'll suggest that as an option.

"Can we not do the whole road trip bonding thing?" Damon asks.

"Yeah, please, let's not." I jump in. If they keep it up, I'm going to walk on my way back. I can handle their bickering every once in a while, but this is an overload. If they keep it up, I'm going to have to separate them from a cat fight!

"Oh, come on Damon…" Stefan starts speaking and I sigh, sinking back into my seat; this three hour drive is going to be much longer than I thought.

They are more similar than they'd like to admit; neither one of them has the ability to shut the fuck up.

* * *

By the time Damon finally stopped the car, I wanted to take my ring of and just burn, because that would be less painful than being a witness to their verbal cat fight. They owe me for this one, big time. I thought it would be nice for them to have an extra hand while trying to rescue Elena, but when I said I was joining, this was _not_ what I had in mind. At least now they're not bickering anymore and I am no longer in a closed space with the two of them.

"I sure as hell hope we find and save Elena, because I would rather walk all the way back to Mystic Falls than drive back in the same car with the two of you alone." I sigh as I slam Damon's trunk.

"Oh come on Zo, it was fun." Damon teases me.

"Not to me it wasn't." I mumble as I take out the content of the bag I got out of the drunk; one of Ric's many goody bags. I throw a stake gun at Stefan, while I take another one for myself; Damon grabs a contraption I had never seen before; I don't know what it does and I'm not risking it. I'm not even going to stand close near that thing when there's a strong possibility I'll point it in the wrong direction.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Stefan asks me and I roll my eyes.

"Grumpy Pants, we've been over this already," I sigh. "Whoever's got Elena might be the same person who knew Katherine a long time ago. They're old and they're strong, they might kill us, yada yada yada." I say, handing him one of the vervain grenades Ric made. "If we go in, we might not go out. We all know the story. So let's just go and end this, once and for all? I have a something I'd like to go back to." I sigh as I start walking, the two of them hurrying up to catch up with me.

They have taken Elena and they have ruined my late celebratory lunch. Heads will roll today.

We slow down as we approach the house; very carefully, we walk and end up on the porch. All three of us listen in on to the conversation that is going on inside the house. We hear as someone gets killed, but we don't jump in straight away. I count two other voices, other than Elena's; I put two fingers up for Stefan and Damon.

Stefan nods his head; he points at himself, then up. He points at Damon, then straight in front of him. Then he points at me, to the left. Both Damon and I nod, understanding what we have to do. Slowly, very careful not to make any noise, we get into the house and get into position. I hide behind the wall on the left side of the hallway, in a room that used to be a kitchen, once upon a time. As I calm myself down and get ready for what I might have to do, I hear as Damon knocks something down. For a moment, I think he's an even bigger idiot than I originally thought. Then I realize he did it on purpose.

It happens really fast; I hear Elena being dragged into the lobby as I keep my cover behind the wall; I can hear three people; Elena, one slightly heavier but very quiet, and another one, making even less noise than Elena. A guy and a girl, both vampires. Damon runs around, teasing them. From the outside, it must look like one of those Tom and Jerry chases. I would laugh, if we weren't in danger.

"Up here." Stefan whispers and I hear movement on the floor above me.

"Down here." Damon teases.

"To the left, to the left." I whisper.

REALLY?! This is the time when I decide to quote Beyoncé, THIS?!

I listen in on the commotion and I realize that one of them has Elena, either Stefan or Damon. I can't pin-point where she is; one of the boys is making her be quiet. Wherever she is, she's not in the lobby. I grab my stake gun more firmly, ready for the real commotion to start.

"Excuse me!" A man yells, still very much in the lobby; he has to be only a few feet away from me. "To whom it may concern? You're making a grave mistake if you think that you can beat me! You can't. You hear that? I repeat…" He says as he rips something apart; something wooden, by the sound of it. "You cannot beat me. So I want the girl, on the count of three," he says as he continues ripping something wooden. He has class, I'll give him that. That's one hell of a speech. "Or heads will roll. Do we understand each other?"

"I'll come with you!" Elena yells and I barely hold back a sigh. This better be Stefan's doing, or I'll kill her myself. She is a human! If anyone of us should not be a martyr, it's Elena! "Please don't hurt my friends. They just wanted to help me out." She says. Silence.

"What game are you playing with me?" the man asks. Classy and smart. And a dead man walking.

Boom. Vervain grenade. A yell. Another boom; stakes are flying.

I hear two tumbles down the stairs, and I take that as my cue; I run out, stake gun in hand. I see a guy standing just above Stefan, seconds away from killing him.

"Behind you." I announce the moment I fire the stake at him. It hits him in the back but it doesn't affect him at all; he doesn't fall down in pain or anything like that. He just lets go of Stefan and turns around.

I stare at him. How the hell did that not affect him?! As I stare, it takes me a moment to realize that he is staring at me, with wide eyes.

"Clara?" he asks.

He doesn't get a chance to say anything else. Damon stabs him with a large wooden pole, right through the heart. He slams him into the door and I watch in shock as his body goes grey and life leaves him.

For someone so full of himself, he sure did die very easily.

He called me Clara. He thought I was Clara. And he is dead, so I can't exactly ask him a few questions.

This can't be good.

* * *

My leg is jumping up and down as I throw out a cigarette bud out of the window, before pulling out and lighting a new one. My leg did not stop jumping ever since I sat down in the car. It's been a solid hour and I still can't calm down. I still can't process what had happened earlier.

"I'm still saying we should have killed her too." Damon speaks up from the driver's seat.

"Damon, she was doing it to save herself, Elena told us that much." Stefan tells him. I look over at Elena, who is peacefully asleep on the backseat next to me. At least she's safe now. The girl's been through too much. Much more than a human can handle, I think.

"I still think we should have killed her," Damon repeats. "What did he call you again?" He asks me.

"He called me Clara." I reply.

The vampire had called me Clara. A vampire whose name is Elijah. An original vampire, as Elena told us.

It is true after all. They are real and not a myth. They are real and Katherine is running from them. She was running from Elijah. From an original vampire, who is very much real, and who called me Clara. The only good thing about it is that he is dead; he can't come after us anymore.

Clara is one of the names on the list. One of the women from my family that was alive at the time when Katherine was in England. He looked at me, his eyes were wide and he called me by the name of one of my possible doppelgängers. Do I really need to know more than that? That's a confirmation alright, but it lacks in detail. I have questions. And I will never find out the truth because he is dead.

"It could be a coincidence." Damon tells me after a very long silence.

"Seriously?" I ask him. Does he even believe in that possibility? "What are the chances of that, huh Damon? When we know for a fact that I have had doppelgängers? He called me Clara, a name which just so happens to be one of the possible names I have discovered. I have a Clara in my family tree. A Clara that was alive at the same time Katherine was in England, a Clara that was between the ages of 15 and 30. Do I have to remind you about Katherine saying she knew my human double? Huh?"

"Easy there, don't attack me!" He snaps at me.

"Then don't try to act like it's not a big deal when it's obviously a big deal!" I snap back at him.

"Guys, take it easy," Stefan cuts in. Of course, leave it to Mr. Grumpy Pants to save the fucking day. "We can talk about this when we get home. We all need a bit of rest. Besides, we killed him. At least we are safe." He tells us.

Yeah, we are safe, but there's a strong chance that there's more of them. If Elijah is real, who's to say that the Klaus guy isn't real too? We just killed an original vampire. If there ever was a situation in which we put targets on our backs, this one defeated it.

Sure, we're safe, and I just happened to confirm the existence of another doppelgänger. A doppelgänger that knew an original vampire, and Katherine fucking Pierce. If Katherine is running from them, how can I know Clara wasn't running from them too? Maybe they were the ones that turned her. Maybe they killed her. Maybe Elena's not the only doppelgänger whose blood can be used to lift the curse?

Of course, we are completely safe, driving around in the same car as the key to lifting an ancient curse that would allow vampires to roam freely in sunlight. Yeah, everything is absolutely peachy. The curse is real, Elena needs to die in order for someone to lift it and my guess is that quite a few vampires are going to be interested in that. And my doppelgänger used to run with the original vampires. It can't get any better than this, it just can't.

"I need a drink," I sigh, knowing all too well that alcohol isn't going to help me but it's also the best chance I have. "Actually, I need 10 drinks." I correct myself, knowing that one will not be enough.

Why does this shit keep happening to me? To me, to us? Why us? Why Elena, why Damon and Stefan, why me? Was it too much to ask for a quiet vampire life? No drama, just peace and quiet until I live out my eternity? After all the shit I had as a human, I thought I would get a pass in the eternal life, but oh, was I wrong! It keeps getting worse by the day and the moment I think it's going to stop, it surprises me again and just… doubles. At this point, I'm really afraid of what will happen next. If it goes the same way it's been going since Damon called for my help… I don't think we'll be able to make it out of it alive.


End file.
